


Home Forged

by ShadowCr0w



Series: Raised a World Away [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: A little death but she's okay, Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beau needs a hug and better parents, Canon? Who is that?, Does Beau get a break?, Family Fluff, Fluff, Loosely related snippets, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Trinket and Beau are best buds, Will be spoilery in future chapters, eventually, i have no idea what im doing, not really a plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27009535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowCr0w/pseuds/ShadowCr0w
Summary: The panic that went through Vex'ahlia as she was told their recently adopted daughter had disappeared somewhere in the keep was not something she ever wanted to experience again. Percy and Keyleth insisted she was fine, but helped her search for their wayward child to ease their own concerns.---------Or the au where Beau is adopted by Keyleth/Vex/PercyUpdate: Title Change
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast, Beauregard Lionett/Yasha Nydoorin (almost but not quite yet), Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Keyleth/Vex'ahlia
Series: Raised a World Away [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029945
Comments: 127
Kudos: 428





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A little idea I had that grew into this monster! I'm a little iffy on some things from Campaign One so bear that in mind while you read this but otherwise, enjoy! :D

"There you are, darling." Vex murmured softly as she found their adopted daughter hiding in a closet in their home. It might have been a good spot to hide but Percy knew all too well the best places to hide so they quickly found her with relative ease, only taking it slow as to not startle her and make her dart off again. Earlier in the day, she had slipped away from the nanny she'd been… not quite playing with but sitting near while the woman had tried to convince her to give a few toys a try. Vex, Keyleth and Percy all hurried around to finish up their workloads, Keyleth in particular rushing over from her tribe, just so they could play with Beau too, perhaps even try to make her more comfortable. 

But they hadn't had the chance to start easing her into everything here, into their family dynamic so they were still relatively new to each other. It meant that Beau didn't trust them yet, they may have taken her in but that didn't mean that they had her acceptance. And it showed, Beau flinched, bracing her little body as if she were preparing to be hit for running off. Vex wanted to murder whoever came before them, just up and solidly _murder_ them for what they did to a two year old child. Whatever Beau did, or didn't do, nothing warranted hurting a defenseless baby and Vex could barely stand the thought of Beau being scared of her like that.

"I'm not mad, Beauregard." Vex presented herself gently, kneeling down in front of the young girl with her hands open and soft to prove that she meant no ill will towards her. Beau peeked out through a half open eyelid to look at her in disbelief. "Scared? Yes." Vex admitted, hoping that honesty would be the way to win over the shaking child. It felt strange, it wasn't something she and Vax had a whole lot of when they were children so maybe she could set a better example for _her_ family. "But that's only because I was terrified something bad had happened to you. Papa Percy and Mama Kiki feel the same." Those were the titles they had all settled on, relatively easy and harmless in the ways of getting a child accustomed to who they were when they weren't born to them. 

Percy and Keyleth were there too, flanking Vex on either side just a few feet behind her. They agreed not to crowd Beau, to instead let Vex talk to her because even at her most terrified, Beau would listen to Vex and let herself be comforted by their wife.

Beau looked a little guilty at having run away, scuffing her shoe against the floor and she gave Vex the most sorrowful look she could muster, her blue eyes brimming with unshed tears. The discovery that Beau wasn't willing to talk wasn't a shock to them, not after what the Orphanage had said what her history was but it still didn't make moments like this easier, Vex wished Beau would talk to them and let them know she was unhappy and _what_ bothered her so they could better dispel her fears. 

It would simply have to be something they worked on, no matter how much love they had to shower on the scared girl they adopted from the Empire. Definitely not the easiest thing to do but they had some favours after years of travelling and being heroes that it wasn’t difficult to call a few in.

"May I pick you up? I can give you a bath and we can get you cleaned up." Vex asked, slowly reaching towards Beau's face and wiping away a streak of dirt that had smeared during her run. Beau stiffened up again as a reflex, eyeing Vex warily for a long breathless moment before she shakily reached towards her, letting herself be picked up and nuzzled under Vex's chin. She felt safe, safer than anywhere that Beau had been recently so she accepted the comfort for what it was.

Percy and Keyleth were just as relieved as Vex, gently touching her back while sandwiching their wife despite the way she stiffened up between all of them at first. Her little body relaxed just a little more, only marginally so because they were nice adults who always spoke softly to her but that didn't mean she trusted them fully just yet. Vex was the nicest of them all, she smelled really nice and was very soft to snuggle but in her life so far, adults only ever wanted to hurt her, for reasons she didn't know so what if these three turned out like that? 

In her mind, she had to be the perfect child or else these wonderful, gentle people who always asked before touching her would send her back to _them_.

So, when she broke a plate by accident a few days later, trying to be mindful of one of the cleaners in the keep but accidentally getting in the way while attempting to search for a snack. Beau prepared herself for the slap that _had_ to be coming, shaking and hyperventilating. She messed up, she messed up again, they were going to be _mad_.

"Beauregard, Beau, darling, are you okay?" Vex's voice was distinct, her magic that flowed through Beau even more so as she checked over her for any injuries from the shattering porcelain. Beau opened her eyes, crying, she couldn't breathe too well but she could recognize the meager comfort from Vex plus she could see Percy and Keyleth hovering nearby as they always did, trying not to crowd her even as they worriedly looked her over.

"I-" Beau squeaked, shivering and looking back at where the plate was being cleaned up. She didn't mean to, she didn't mean to be bad. 

"Don't worry about that, plates can be replaced." Vex waved it off, quickly parroted by the others who reassured Beau that it really _was_ fine that the accident had occurred. She carefully placed her hand on Beau's chest, making it obvious that she only wanted to touch Beau with a kind touch and not something that could harm her. The soft weight helped ground her while Vex instructed her to breathe, to follow her own breathing so she could ward off the sudden spike in anxiety and panic. " _You_ cannot be replaced, okay? We do want you to be careful but not because we're worried about what you could break, instead so that you may not be injured." Vex explained.

"Yeah, plates break _all_ the time, I'm clumsier than like… drunk me." Keyleth winced as those words came out of her mouth but she managed to get a little, watery giggle out of Beau. Wide blue eyes turned towards her and all Keyleth wanted to do was crouch down on the ground and gather Beau up in her arms to coo over how adorable she was and to protect her from the world.

"Kiki, you're clumsy anyways, drunk _or_ sober." Percy mused then knelt down next to Beau, levelling himself to her height. "Vex is right, Beauregard. Whatever life you had before is no more, we understand that it hurts badly and that we cannot change that, but perhaps you would like to learn what a loving family is, with us?" He offered to her again, just like the night they officially welcomed her into their home.

Beau slumped into his arms, allowing herself to be scooped up and pressed between the three of them again. They weren't upset about the plate, they _weren't_ ! They were worried about _her_ instead, repeatedly checking her over for even the slightest injuries but she was fine, all that happened was her emotional state had taken a hit.

"M'sorry." She muttered softly, still slightly worried that she'd be speaking out of turn but… but they wouldn't punish her if she did. They'd correct her, Percy was really good about telling the others to wait their turn, he'd be that nice to her, she was sure of it.

"What happened, Beauregard?" Percy asked after she calmed down a little more, idly stroking her hair and she leaned into it. It felt nice, a form of affection she had desperately craved in her old home but had never gotten because she'd been a bad kid. 

Maybe not a bad kid? It was confusing to try and settle things properly now but… she had time to learn now. That felt nice to thenk about.

"I was hungry. Didn't wanna bother you." She murmured sadly as her stomach growled, causing her to whimper a little. 

They didn't reprimand her like she thought they might, instead, they got her whatever kind of food she wanted and insisted that they could sneak away and eat outside today. Beau happily munched on a piece of sliced fruit that Keyleth had given her, snuggled down on top of Vex while her other adoptive parents pressed in on either side of her so she wasn't alone or starved for affection.

Maybe she didn't have to be anymore, maybe they really would love her like she wanted. Beau really wanted that so she let herself hope, just this once.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months later and Beau starts getting really comfortable with Percy, Vex and Keyleth. Also, Trinket is the best bear.

Beau toddled around in front of Keyleth, chasing a little ball of light that she summoned for her own amusement. It was a really pretty shimmering blue-white, reminiscent of how the moon gave off light in the middle of the night during the times they went outside to stargaze. She was utterly entranced by it, giggling every time it bopped over in front of her and she reached out to touch it, the cool magic tickled her fingers before dancing away so she could chase it a but longer. 

"Have you ever seen anything so  _ cute? _ " Keyleth whispered to Percy who was designing a new weapon beside her. He still built them on occasion but for the most part, he liked to design them more than anything just to stretch out what his imagination could conjure up.

Percy quirked one of his eyebrows up, a little amused grin on his face as he glanced between his wife and his daughter. "I don't know, I can think of one other thing that is adorable." He touched her forearm gently, delighting in the way her face turned a bright shade of red at the light flirtation. "But I agree with you, she is far too cute for me to handle some days." 

Just as he said that, Beau made a loud noise of exclamation which caused them to both shoot straight up in worry out of the fact that she could have hurt herself when playing. But instead of her being on the ground like they feared, they relax when they see Trinket had lumbered his way over to bat at the ball of light with one of his large paws. Beau made another delighted noise and she repeatedly patted on his leg, getting an inquisitive "mrr?" from him before she stretched all the way up onto her tiptoes to reach behind his ear and scratch there like she had seen Vex do. 

Percy and Keyleth watched as Trinket flopped onto the ground to let Beau climb on top of him, still digging her fingers delightedly through his soft fur. She looked over to them, getting encouragement for her to keep going which she did. They weren't about to tell her to stop doing that, especially when Trinket didn't seem to mind her petting him all that much and when she had the biggest grin on her face that they had seen since she came to them. 

Beau leaned forward, straddling Trinket's back and attempting to wrap her arms around his neck. "Trinky?" She asked, getting closer so she could ask him a question even if she wasn't sure that he could understand her. He made another noise of inquiry so maybe he could at least understand what she wanted, "Want mama." Beau couldn't say Vex's name all too well but he'd know who she meant, right?

Trinket stood up and briefly went over to Percy and Keyleth, nuzzling them in a goodbye before lumbering away to where Vex would be sitting under a tree just a ways away. Beau sat up on his back, turning around and waving her own farewells to them which got her confused waves in response. She didn't pay attention to that, instead she leaned back down to snuggle down into Trinket.

"What do you suppose he's doing with her?" Percy watched as Trinket's form grew smaller in the distance before he turned a corner and they lost sight of him and Beau.

"I'd say he's taking her to Vex?" Keyleth knew vaguely that Vex had gone to one of the nearby fruit trees to be amongst some type of nature so Trinket must be taking her there. That or they were going to go pilfer apples and/or peaches again.

Percy nodded, that made sense. Whatever he was doing with their daughter, Trinket wouldn't allow any sort of harm to come to her so they could relax a little longer before going after them to make sure they were really okay.

After all, if they couldn't trust Trinket after all he's done for them, even just by virtue of him being  _ Vex's _ , then they would have never let him around Beau.

Meanwhile, Beau waved to a few townspeople who recognized Trinket, some even recognized her as the child of the De Rolos. She still felt shy around too many new people but she trusted Trinket to protect her if any of them got too close. Most of them seemed to steer clear of the duo, only a couple braved getting close enough to "properly" greet them. Beau snuggled down into Trinket when some got too close for comfort, relaxing a little when he moved away or growled to keep them at bay. 

The rest of the walk was rather quiet, Beau even nodded off once or twice until he bumped upwards, jostling her to sit up. She did so, rubbing her fists into her eyes blearily before perking up when she saw Vex reading underneath one of the trees near the grove that was still rather new in Whitestone since its rebirth as a proper place to grow and live under Percy's rule with Keyleth and Vex helping shape it. 

She bounced on Trinket's back before making a small giggly noise at the excitement that filled her when she saw Vex. Beau would reign it in a little but ultimately, she really wanted to be snuggled up with Vex under the tree and maybe even be read to a little. That sounded  _ really  _ nice.

"Oh, hello!" Vex grinned as Beau found her outside near one of the large trees in the keep, having finally looked up to see Trinket and Beau near the tree she was under. Normally, this was Keyleth's spot to relax but Vex missed nature in some ways, surviving off the land around her hadn't held that much appeal since she'd been on the run with Vax, but just the feeling of life surrounding her at all time was what she missed in particular. She wouldn't complain so much, she had everything she could want here in Whitestone, a wonderful place to live, the respect of the people she helped, her wonderful partners and a wonderful child to learn to take care of as she needed to be cared for, so she'd only sigh wistfully and move on. 

But right now, she wondered what Beau needed. The little girl was perched on Trinket's back, the bear having happily lumbered away into the cool shade to bring her to Vex. She gave Vex a shy look, almost afraid to say what she wanted but she knew that Vex wouldn't be upset if she said something. 

"How are you today, my little darling?" Vex pushed aside her book, offering her arms for Beau to climb into if she decided that's what she wanted. They'd been working on her accepting touch for the past three and a half months since the night where she had a panic attack over the broken plate, sometimes it was a hit and miss on if Beau would accept it so Vex waited patiently for whatever she decided.

The little girl lit up, slipped off of Trinket carefully and eagerly climbed on top of Vex, snuggling down into her chest, then placed her ear over the older woman's heart to listen to it beat. This is what she had come out here for, Trinket having known where Vex was so Beau had politely asked him if he could take her to the half-elf. Of course, she couldn't understand him and she wasn't sure he could understand her, but she wanted to be polite anyways and he was really soft to snuggle on.

Vex almost cried tears of joy at the snuggling, she would have if she was sure it wouldn't freak her…  _ daughter _ out. Gods, she was a proper mother now, just like she, Percy and Keyleth had dreamed about since they all committed to each other and started to talk about expanding their family past what they had left. Vex never thought that they'd have a daughter so soon, let alone one not of their blood but her heart still ached and loved Beau the  _ exact  _ same as she would any child they had in the future.

Beau definitely wasn't a conventional child, though none of that mattered to her because Vex loved her, she loved her so much that she knew that she would harm anyone who tried to hurt her baby in the future. "You are a sweetheart, darling." Vex placed a soft kiss on top of Beau's head, which only made the toddler snuggle harder into her. "What's the occasion?" She couldn't help but wonder, not that she wanted this to ever end but...

"Wanted snuggles." Beau murmured, sleepily nuzzling as far as she could int Vex, firmly disrupting her plans to read more. "Wanted you." She was allowed to want things and she was going to take  _ advantage  _ of it now, so if she wanted to cuddle, she was going to find who she wanted to cuddle.

Well, Vex was  _ not  _ about to argue with that, nor was she about to cry like a child over being  _ wanted _ like this and she held Beau just a little bit tighter to her body after that thought. "Oh, I am  _ more _ than happy to hold you, thank you for trusting me." She definitely wanted to set off their relationship right and it appeared that she had succeeded, Beau finally feeling comfortable enough to seek love where she wanted it,  _ when  _ she wanted it.

They sat for a while, enjoying the soft breeze that fluttered by and the warm sun that shone down on them. A few townspeople greeted her as they passed, one even passing Trinket a few fish from his haul to which the bear thoroughly enjoyed. She always smiled at them, gentle and quiet so she didn't disturb the toddler who was most likely asleep by now. 

"Mm." Beau grunted, her face scrunching up in bleary displeasure and Vex soothed her, not wanting her to be disrupted. It had taken them long enough already to get to this point and she’d be  _ damned _ if Beau suddenly felt like she was unsafe while Vex was around.

"It's okay, baby. Just a few people saying hello." She murmured, holding Beau a little closer to her and pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. It felt so nice to be able to do this and not have the girl flinch away from her, even though Vex understood why she had in the first place. 

Who in their right minds would promise their firstborn to a  _ hag _ that fed on  _ misery _ ? Did they not understand that their deal wouldn’t work out like they hoped? That no child deserved a life where they would be neglected and hated just because they weren’t what the parents were expecting. Vex knew that despite Beau not being hers biologically, that she loved her with all of her being the moment that she came to them. Percy and Keyleth were the same, they adored Beau more than anything, only comparable to the deep love the three of them had between each other.

She took a deep breath to avoid going into an overprotective rage, her mama bear mode as Pike had taken to teasing her since she, Scanlan and Grog had come to visit them and meet Beau. It was endearing honestly, a nickname that she wore with pride and it seemed even more fitting given that she was Trinket’s mother in some ways.

"Mmhm. Mm? Mama?" Bleary eyes looked up at her, interrupting Vex’s thoughts and she smiled when she noticed that Vex immediately paid attention to her when  _ that _ word came out of her mouth. It a cute little thing that made Vex finally start crying but at least these were happy tears, especially after the  _ word _ she was just called. "Love you." 

And Vex didn't care who saw her sobbing next to the tree, she was happy to relax there and whisper words of love to her child. Percy and Keyleth were going to  _ lose _ their minds out of excitement when she told them about what Beau said  _ and _ that she said it of her own free will. She was starting to come out of her shell and Vex could not be happier for it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau is four years old when she and Percy travel to a new place together. It's a little cold but she makes a new friend so it isn't all bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tossed up whether or not what name he would have for a bit and well, this is the result! 
> 
> (I'm not a deep diver into lore so facts will likely be wrong and I'm cool with that.)

Beau is four years old when Percy asks her if she wants to go on a trip with him somewhere. She immediately perked up from the table where she had been attempting to do some sort of homework that her tutor had given her, even if she wasn't going to start proper schooling for another two years, her parents were helping her read and learn some new languages that would be helpful to her. They'd even asked her what she wanted to learn and she had eagerly picked whatever language a woman in the market had been speaking when she was yelling after some boys who took her things. 

Naturally, they'd all been confused by the fact that Beau remembered her, let alone that picking Zemnian to learn was strange but they weren't ones to deny their daughter anything she wanted. Well, within reason but her being excited about whatever language she learned would make it vastly easier to teach it to her, plus the fact that she might travel the world someday herself, or just even read something in Zemnian. What was odder still was that Keyleth even joined in on the lessons, encouraging Percy and Vex to as well so Beau wouldn't feel alone with a stranger that she didn't know. 

They put up only a little protest before Keyleth pulled out her best puppy dog look, pouting and gazing down at them with a little sad whine. Vex and Percy were immediately putty in her hands, letting themselves be dragged into language lessons with their wife and daughter. They couldn't help it, anything either of them wanted, they would go to the ends of the world to get for them. 

Which is one reason Percy found himself in a little obscure village away from Whitestone, carrying Beau around in his arms and pointing out different animals to her. He would feel bad about leaving his home again but this time, he knew it was in Vex's hands and it was  _ safe  _ there. Keyleth would also be away while he was gone, attending to her own duties as she could before she'd come back to greet him and Beau when they got back.

"Papa?" Beau leaned against his shoulder, fidgeting with the crest of their family that sat on his cloak. She had a matching one on her own but had an odd fascination with touching the one he had, he figured that perhaps it was a self soothing technique that she had developed so Percy didn't say a word about it. 

"Yes?"

"It's cold here."

"That it is, which is why you and I look so out of place here." He knew that she'd seen the strange looks they'd gotten as they went to meet with someone who had what he was looking for. Beau still got uncomfortable around large groups of people, though that was something that was steadily going away the longer she was with them. "Everyone here is so used to the cold that we look  _ weird _ all bundled up! And think, this is warm to the people of this region."

"Really?" She sounded skeptical and Percy chuckled. "That's weird, papa."

"Well, they think you're weird too. So that's perhaps somewhere to start, people tend to like to talk about different places." Beau nodded, a serious expression on her little face as she thought about what he said before relaxing back into him to keep messing with the crest he wore. Percy just chuckled and kept walking forward.

They eventually met with the man that Percy was looking for, a Zemnian man named Heimal who had brought along  _ his _ son to their meeting. Percy hadn't quite caught the young kid's name but he could try to catch it again after he had discussed what he needed. Maybe perhaps even introduce the boy and Beau would help both of the kids feel at ease.

Meanwhile, Beau was watching the older boy with a scrutinizing look while she peeked around Percy's leg. The other kid looked back at her, a little nervous but nowhere near as distrusting as she was about the whole situation. He looked nice enough, she didn't get to play with too many kids because she was too small for a lot of them but he was small too! Maybe he would even like to see weird bugs with her, or try and pet that cat that was hanging around nearby.

She steeled herself and slunk over, careful not to disturb her father and his father. "Hi." Beau whispered to the boy, waving at him as their dads didn't  _ ignore _ them but were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice the two making nice. "I'm Beau." 

The boy looked at her, clutching tighter to his dad's leg for a minute before he relaxed at her friendly grin. He gave her a name that she didn't understand for a minute, cocking her head and furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to pick past his accent. He spoke again, giving her a different, softer name, "Caleb." 

Beau stuck out her hand like she'd seen Percy do with people in the past and Caleb took it, shaking it gently. "Wanna play?" She asked in broken Zemnian, something else she had been learning from her tutor and her parents alike as they were a little more advanced in their studies just due to being  _ old _ .

Caleb looked up at his dad before letting go of his pant leg slowly, following Beau away to a spot nearby so they could look for bugs because she  _ knew _ where weird kinds hid away. They liked the dark spots and it was funny to watch them scatter when exposed to light, if Trinket were here, he'd try to eat some while Beau squealed at his bug breath.

Instead of finding bugs, she saw that orange cat again and grabbed Caleb's hand, eagerly dragging him forward to go see if it was friendly.

A short time later, Percy finally noticed the suspicious lack of his daughter and panicked. "Shit!" He stopped talking with the farmer, frantically looking around for Beau as he now noticed the man's own son was missing too. 

" _ Scheisse! _ " The man swore. "I'm sorry, my Lord, I don't know-" he started to ramble, obviously nervous and making it apparent that his son did not just  _ run off _ a lot.

"Let's find our children, Heimal was it?" The man nodded and they parted from the stand to search nearby to look for wherever the kids had disappeared to. If they were lucky, they would have just wandered off nearby but Percy was far too jaded to believe that something good would happen right off. He'd already gotten lucky enough to have two women who loved him and fought by his side to help restore his family's home/name. Percy had  _ really _ lucked out by getting such a curious, knowledge hungry child like Beauregard so he was most likely overdue for some bad luck sooner or later.

So, he was more than a little worried and did  _ not _ want to explain to Keyleth and Vex that he had lost their daughter. He was already panicking enough, he didn't want them to be upset too.

But apparently, luck was still on his side because Heimal's son was nearby with Beau, the two of them excitedly petting a friendly cat who was purring as hard as it's little body would let it. "See!" Beau grinned, a few teeth missing and entirely charming as she showed Caleb how to pet the cat without causing it distress, just like Keyleth had taught her. 

His heart melted at the sight. "Beauregard." Percy would reprimand her for wandering off but… not right now. He wanted to treasure the innocent grin on her little face for a little while longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keyleth is in her second home in Whitestone with Vex and Percy, a joyous homecoming dampened by the looming fact that Beau has been sick the last few days and it culminates into them needing a little help from the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little tw for nausea/someone being sick and a little death but everyone's okay in the end.

Breakfast time came around and all the adults were delighted to be together despite the slight somber tone that hung over them. The little trio sat around the table on a rare quiet morning without interruptions. Keyleth had been able to spend the night last night for the first time in a few weeks, wedged between Vex and Percy as they all curled up, sharing quiet stories and body heat. 

That was also when Keyleth learned that Beau had been slightly ill for the past few nights, nothing major but their six year old was seemingly getting worse with each day that passed. "We had someone send for Allura, see what she could do but nothing, tomorrow afternoon when Pike and Kima get here, we'll see what's really affecting her." Vex told her, quietly with no small amount of strain in her voice. 

Keyleth had winced and held Vex tighter to her chest, Percy drawing both of them closer to him in response. She knew exactly how deeply and fiercely that Vex loved Beau, so to see her suffering even from nothing  _ bad _ per se… couldn't have been easy. It was a good thing she had Percy here to help until Keyleth was able to help him support Vex.

Not that just one of them was insufficient, but it was easier for Vex to feel steadier with more people around. Something leftover from their days adventuring, given how close they were when Vax had to leave for the Raven Queen's side. That still stung all of them, even if it had been several years since then, they knew he was never  _ far _ per se as he hovered around in raven form quite often but it just wasn't the same.

"I'm going to go check on her." Vex said quietly when she finished eating. "I don't like her being alone so long, especially when she's unwell." With that said, she stood up, put her dishes to the side and gathered up something bland that would hopefully settle well with Beau's upset stomach. 

Keyleth reached out as she passed, giving her a squeeze on the arm which prompted a quick kiss from Vex before she disappeared upstairs. She and Percy watched Vex go with sad looks on their faces before they linked hands to try and support each other while their wife went to check up on their daughter. 

"I hate every second of this. She's been sick before but…" Percy's face pinched up as his voice got thick from emotion. Keyleth nodded, gently squeezing his hand in support. "I do hope Pike, Kima and Allura get here soon. If they're all here, you know everyone else will be too. I was never quite prepared for how intensely they all adore Beauregard." 

"Your mistake." Keyleth tried to keep it a little lighter, teasing him just a tad. "Vox Machina may be a band full of loners who don't trust easy but we've… always had a soft spot for family."

"Annoying buggers." He chuckled, squeezing her hand back before pulling it up to place a kiss to the back of it. "Thank you." Percy knew what she was trying to do, lessening the anxiety would allow them to think a little clearer and be able to find the right path without all the negative emotions obstructing their views. Keyleth was good at that, she was great at pulling himself and Vex from the deep, dark thoughts that hid inside. They all did it for each other really but Keyleth's approach was refreshing and delightful for both of them. 

However, he feared that if Beauregard worsened, or if the worse came to pass, then there would be no pulling her back from the brink this time.

\---------

It appeared Beau was a little better when she was carried downstairs on Trinket's back, the bear making worried noises as his eyes pleaded with Percy and Keyleth to fix his best friend. They both gave him a sorrowful pat on the head before Vex picked Beau up from his back, cradling her gently while they went to the sitting room to try and wait for their companions. 

Hours passed before- "What is taking them so long?" Percy growled, glancing over at the circle that would allow the group to travel through into the heart of the Castle. 

Vex's grip tightened on Beau when the little girl made another disgruntled noise, she'd been nauseous for the past few days but hadn't managed to throw anything up nor keep anything down so whatever was wreaking havoc on her system was likely having a field day with her weakened system. "Do you need down, darling?" Vex whispered to Beau when she gripped her stomach painfully, whimpering as her skin took on a sickly pallor. 

She managed to make it to a bucket nearby before she  _ finally  _ got rid of the bout of nausea that had been plaguing her.

Then she managed to get up from there, seek them out again and with a shudder, a little whimper, she collapsed. Keyleth had been hovering near Beau, poised to lunge and catch her or even just ready to pick her up while the girl walked towards them and thus, was the one who caught her before she hit the ground, now panicked at how shallow her breathing had gotten.

And just as Beau collapsed and all of them were yelling, they heard a familiar  _ shunk!  _ of the teleportation circle being activated before more yelling joined in. Allura and Pike were able to weasle in between Grog and Kima who had rushed forward with their weapons drawn, Scanlan hanging back and prepared to join in if he was needed. 

"What the fuck-?" 

"She just collapsed!" Vex's eyes were wild as they darted between everyone who just showed up, her lips tugged downwards at the corners in an attempt to suppress the way she wanted to yell and tear apart whatever was hurting her baby.

After some spellcasting and judicious questioning, it turns out that one of their "visitors" had cast a bane on Beau in order to hurt their family by attacking their eldest. As much they all wanted to hunt the bastard down and murder him, they had to stand by while Pike worked to prepare a spell that would save their daughter's life. Then when Beau was stabilized, they could find him and rip him limb from limb.

Grog was the antsiest outside of the parents, he hated that his "little cub" was unwell and he couldn't punch whatever was killing her nor could he help them get this done any faster. Their bond had been an unlikely one but one that had always warmed their hearts from how protective the Goliath was over Beau. Especially considering when she was small, he tried to teach her how to do a battle cry while she was strapped to his chest but the end result has been 3 year old Beau just screeching, something he was very proud of even to this day.

Vex was on the bed with Beau, holding her daughter and trying not to crush her with the strength of her arms and the weight of her worry.

Meanwhile, Beau was sitting in a plane that was… different. Of course she knew of the different planes, the gods weren't exactly mortal but she'd never been told  _ she  _ would end up on one! She didn't like it one bit, she was cold and scared and  _ alone _ , all of the things she hadn't been since she ran away from- 

"You don't have to fear death, Beauregard." A gentle voice disrupted her and she almost flinched away from the man who suddenly appeared out of thin air. She didn't know who he was at first but after looking at him a little while longer, the sharp ears and the dark features with a soft smile that was  _ exactly _ like her mama Vex's, that's when she knew this was her Uncle Vax that she'd heard so much about.

She knew that she was safe with him, at the very least she wasn't alone. Beau just  _ really _ wanted her moms and her dad and the rest of her family. "M'not scared." Beau murmured, trying to put on a brave face as she buried her face in her knees, shivering despite what she said.

"Nor do you have to lie." His little warm chuckle made her feel a bit better. "I was scared but not because death is… bad. The Raven Queen is kinder than even I expected, but I was worried about leaving my family alone." He sat down next to her in the nothingness, wrapping her up under a large black wing and helped her stay warm. "Not the greatest thing to start off with, I'm Vax'ildan, your Uncle Vax."

"I know." She murmured and leaned into his side. "Am I gonna die?"

"No, not forever. The sickness is trying to keep you but your family is working on it, young Beauregard." The last thing Beau expected was a visit from a goddess. It made her a little nervous, she didn't exactly believe or want to serve a god but she knew better than to be disrespectful to one right to their face. The Raven Queen was… nicer than Beau thought she would be, gentle in her tone and her explanation of what was happening. 

"You don't like people coming back to life." Beau muttered, hiding further into Vax. 

"Not necessarily but… everyone has their time, Beauregard. Today is not yours and I believe your parents are more than ready for you to go home." She gently touched Beau's head, slightly ruffling her hair and pleased when the young girl didn't flinch away. 

Vax hugged her tightly as a golden light arched towards them, rocketing forward to find Beau. "I wish I could be there with you, all of you." He sighed but pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, Beau tearing up and hugging him with her scrawny arms around his neck. "Give your mothers my love, please? And tell your father to treat them right or I'll have to kick his butt." He teased the end of his sentence, gently tugging on her hair in the same way he used to do with Vex. 

Beau nodded rapidly, holding the words close to her heart and before she went back to the land of the living, she told him, "I love you, Uncle Vax." Even if she had never gotten to know him, she knew it was  _ true _ , her family wasn't normal and she was easy at accepting the new things, going with the flow. Such as things like an uncle who isn't amongst the living, she adored him already. Just from the stories she'd heard and from the way he was so much like her mom, she believed it wholeheartedly that she loved him.

"And I you, my dear. Now, be good for them or raise hell trying." He pushed her gently towards the light, gifting her a feather from his back before she left for the time being. Hopefully, not to return until it was truly her time to cross over and that it would be after a long, fulfilling life full of love.

Keyleth's fingers were bone white from how hard she was clutching at Percy's hand, she knew he was just as freaked out when Beau's stopped breathing in the middle of the night, going limp on the bed. They held onto each other, wishing they could hold Beau, they wished they hold Vex who had their daughter in her lap when her heart stopped.

Pike had hurried up with her reviving ritual as much as she could as soon as the heart shattering wail left Vex's lips. She wished she could move faster as Grog roared out of anger over the sound, punching a nearby wall before rushing out of the room in order to go rip into  _ something _ . Scanlan followed him, giving Pike a soft squeeze on her shoulder in a show of support before going off after her best friend.

Normally, more than one person had to offer something to the soul to sway it to return but the mournful cry of a heartbroken mother who's lost  _ more _ than enough seemed to do the trick.

Almost too long passed before Pike exclaimed, loudly, that she had her, she had Beau and quickly restored her to the land of the living. Once that was done, she quietly made her exit to inform the others and left the little family to cry together. She'd find Grog and the others, collapsing into them with happy tears and exhaustion evident on her face, she'd get time with her niece later, revival was always tricky, especially with ones so young but for now? Pike was going to take a nap, content in knowing Beau was alive with her parents.

Vex had Beau pressed even tighter to her body, sobbing freely into her hair as she felt her daughter breathing now. "Beau, Beau,  _ Beau _ ." Was all she could mutter, Beau was okay, she was  _ alive _ .

Beau rasped, a little weak still from the lingering effects of dying. She had to tell them, she met her Uncle and they needed to know he loved and missed them. But,  _ gods _ , she was so tired… maybe it could wait until she didn't feel like she was going to pass out on command.

She had all the time in the world now, thanks to her family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau is a little older, slowly growing up with her parents but this time she gets big news: she's going to have a baby sibling and she doesn't quite know how to handle that. 
> 
> So she runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days to make up for skipping wednesday! Enjoy!

As Beau had gotten older and after her incident with the wizard beholden to a Betrayer God, she had taken to people watching. Nothing invasive, she just liked to sit back and observe how people moved, how they acted and try to work out their motives in life. It gave her a sense of calm, something to learn and something to do so she wasn’t a sitting duck, waiting to be attacked again.

Some people were easier than others. Such as those who wore godly symbols were easier to figure out than she thought they would be, the ideals of the god they pledged themselves to usually bled into their everyday lives. The ones who didn't prescribe to religion were a little… harder but she relished in the challenge nonetheless. Beau would watch them, sneakily like Vex did whenever someone was speaking to her and Percy about matters relating to the ongoings of their lands.

But none of her skills mattered when she found out she was going to be a big sister and she hadn't even  _ noticed _ her mother was acting unusual. Beau quickly turned her anger inward, swallowing down the shame she felt for having missed something as big as this. It was impossible to prevent herself for being so hard on herself for not noticing sooner that something was off. Beau did her best to keep a happy front, she didn't want them to worry more than they already did being her parents.

That was a thought that almost made her crack, now that they were going to have a new baby, would they even want her anymore? She was only seven so she wasn't… too old to find a new home but she didn't want to go. Beau loved the three of them with all her being, she loved being here with  _ all  _ of her being. It wouldn’t be the first family she had to leave but unlike her birth family that she  _ barely _ remembered, this would hurt worse. 

But would they have time with a new baby around?

After she excused herself from dinner, not really hungry, she dashed away outside to go hide away and think of a backup plan just in case the worst happened. Where would she go? Back to the orphanage? Back to her… She shook her head at that thought, refusing to let herself think of being sent back to her birth parents. Beau wouldn't wish them on  _ anyone _ in the world. 

"Ah, young Beauregard!" Her thoughts, and wandering, were interrupted by a familiar voice, Allura Vysoren stopped her in her tracks before she could run any further. "What's the rush, dear? You look troubled, are your parents well?" The wizard knelt down in front of her, clearly worried about what was happening, gently placing her hands on Beau’s shoulders.

Allura and Kima were nice, they'd let her hide away while she figured it out  _ and  _ she'd be in safe hands so her parents wouldn't worry. It was a win-win as far as she was concerned, so Beau asked if she could come over to their house and study for a while. "I wanna read some more." was her weak explanation and Allura frowned, clearly seeing through her but agreed to take her to her home so she could read/think in peace.

Except, she was there maybe two hours, reading with Kima and practicing her halfling when she heard the telltale signs of a magical mirror lighting up with the sounds of a call incoming. 

"Ah, Vex-" Allura barely got her greeting out before she was interrupted.

"Have you seen Beauregard? She ran out of the Keep and we haven't- we can't  _ find  _ her, we can't scry on her and we're worried! What if- what if she's hurt or scared or alone?" Her mother's voice made its way to her ears, frantic and absolutely  _ terrified _ of the possibilities that something happened to her. 

Beau instantly regretted her decision to run off. It was  _ stupid _ , what she did was dumb, she should have just stayed back in Whitestone because even if she was upset, she shouldn’t have done what she did and run away. Now she had worried her mothers and father enough that they were likely gathering a search party for her as they spoke to Allura.

"Vex, Vex'ahlia! Slow down, take a deep breath, alright?" Allura didn't immediately say that they had Beau, more concerned for her friend's wellbeing at the current moment than anything else. Once it sounded like that Vex had calmed down, no doubt curled up into one of her partner’s arms in search of comfort, Allura asked, "Why do you think Beauregard ran off?" Her voice was as gentle as she could make it, well aware that something had to have happened for Beau to leave  _ Vex _ of all people.

"I- we told her I was pregnant and she seemed… fine. We knew something was going on but she didn't say anything, so we wanted to give her time to think! This is big news and we knew it but we- I never thought-" 

"Vex, here let me." Keyleth's voice was gentle as she guided Vex back into her chest, letting her break down there and she took the mirror. "Just… have you seen her?" 

Beau went over and gently gestured for the mirror. This was her mistake, she was going to own up to it, she'd tell them and… she'd take whatever punishment they gave her for running off without permission. Allura gave her a kind look before passing the mirror down, Beau's face coming into view now as did her parents. 

She felt  _ worse _ at how bad her mother Vex looked: wild, bloodshot eyes; tear tracks streaking down her cheeks; and her voice had sounded hoarse as if she'd been screaming. Beau didn't doubt it, her mother always was protective of her and they'd been close ever since-

"Hi." She murmured and the overwhelming relief that came across their faces was… nice. 

"Beau? Thank  _ gods _ , you're okay!" Keyleth eagerly said, clutching Vex a little tighter to her side and the mirror closer as if she could inspect Beau. 

"M'sorry." She mumbled. "I'll come home. I didn't- I'm  _ sorry _ ." 

"Darling, we're relieved you're okay, we'll… talk after Allura brings you home or someone brings us there." Vex wasn't talking, her eyes latched onto Beau as if she'd disappear the moment she wasn't looking. Beau wasn't gonna run off this time, she'd be brave like her parents, she'd tell them what happened and…

"Allow me two hours to rest, I'll bring her home before too long passes, okay?" Allura interrupted, taking the mirror back and wincing at Vex's unsure warble as Beau disappeared from sight. "She's still here, Vex. I promise you that we'll be there as soon as possible." She spent a few more moments reassuring her normally confident and strong friend, finally understanding just how attached Vex had gotten to Beau.

"Why did you run away, kid?" Kima asked as soon as the mirror was put down and Allura disappeared to go rest for a bit, but not before pressing a kiss to Kima’s cheek and one to the crown of Beau’s head. Allura could take them back now, she was a powerful enough wizard but it would be better if she did stretch out for a little bit, just to recharge.

Beau slumped a little, it wasn't something she wanted to talk about honestly before discussing it with her parents. Gods, she shouldn't have run off like she did, why didn't she ever  _ think  _ things through before she acted on them?

She didn't answer Kima, just leaning into her with a dejected feeling tearing itself through her chest. 

  
  


Getting home was simple, Allura having done this enough that there wasn't any problem with her teleporting. Upon arrival, Beau was  _ immediately  _ approached by her parents, the three looked ready to sweep her up into hugs that she didn't deserve. 

Not after what she put them through. 

She wrapped her arms around her stomach, shrinking in on herself and shook her head  _ no _ . No, she didn't want hugs.  _ No _ , she didn't deserve the comfort and safety of their arms.  _ Maybe she did deserve to be sent away. _ Her breathing sped up as she thought about that, her body shaking with an uncontrollable fear that she hadn't felt in a  _ long _ time. A little whimper escaped her throat and she tried to curl in further on herself, she had to protect herself from getting hurt again.

"Beauregard? Shit." Vex's voice barely swam through the panic clouding her mind. Her mother was usually a safe anchor for her when she had panic attacks like this but everything made it hard to think, hard to  _ want  _ safety just in case she was rejected. 

A squeak was all she managed, before she vaguely thought screw it, she wanted her mom. Beau shakily reached out, grabbing someone's wrist before she was swaddled in a warm embrace, a soothing voice guiding her on how to breathe because it seemed that she had forgotten in the time since she got home. 

Later on, when she confessed to  _ why  _ she ran away, Vex was the first to hug her and reassure her that she was  _ theirs _ and she'd never be abandoned again. Beau was home, nothing was ever going to change that. 

"I'm sorry." She apologized again but it was Percy who shushed her this time.

"We know you are and you've promised to never run off again like that. None of us blame you for how you reacted and you don't blame us for being worried sick, right?" She shook her head, understanding that by running off she scared her parents. "But we think rashly sometimes, we should have handled the news better and reassured you that we  _ want _ you, okay Beauregard?" He held her hands gently, pleading with her to understand what he was saying.

Vex agreed with him, rubbing Beau's upper back gently. "I may not have carried you, but I always have in my heart, darling." 

Then Keyleth finished it with, "It isn't always blood that makes a family, kiddo. We choose who we want when our starting circumstances are crap. We chose you and  _ you _ chose us, you  _ chose _ to let us love you and that? That is the most beautiful thing ever." 

"Yeah?" Beau leaned over from Vex's side to press into Keyleth, soaking in her mother's warmth. 

"Do you trust us?"

Beau didn't even have to think about it. "Yes." She murmured quietly and sunk further into their embraces, a pleased thought crossing her mind now as she thought of all the cool ways she was going to love her baby sibling whenever they came. If she got to be surrounded by all this love, then she was going to do her part and pass it on as the best big sister ever.

She swore that little oath in her heart, ready to carry it until she saw her first sibling for the first time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau goes out into town with Trinket by her side, gets into a few shenanigans and meets a god. 
> 
> So, a normal day for a child of Vox Machina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I'm editing and throwing the chapters out to get ahead of the curve for Nano. Enjoy!

"Mom?" Beau poked at Keyleth who was currently holding Vesper while Vex and Percy were holding babies Piper and Paxton, the twins simply wouldn't settle down and Beau knew better than to try and disrupt whatever shushing was going on over there. "Can I go into town?" She asked in general but directed it at Keyleth so she wouldn't bother her other parents who were  _ definitely _ sleep deprived after her baby siblings just wouldn't stop crying. 

Keyleth blinked at her, clearly feeling the effects of whatever was dragging her spouses into the gutter too. "Huh? Why?" Was her articulate answer, Vesper giggling from her spot on Keyleth's lap which just increased in intensity when Beau stuck her tongue out at her. Beau loved messing with Vesper, she was fun to poke at and teach where to find all the best hiding spots after having stolen sweets that were definitely not for before dinner.

“I want to get something for mama and papa.” And for Keyleth too but Beau left that out as part of the surprise. She did get some money for spending whenever she went on trips out of the castle with her family and she had saved some on the side, in secret for occasions like this.

Beau happily went into town, accepting her mother’s request to take Trinket with her easily. It was a good thing, he’d help keep her safe if she came across any trouble and if she needed help carrying something, odds were that she could sling it across his back and he wouldn’t mind. She already resolved to get him some fish in exchange for his help, a far better treat than anything her Uncle Vax used to give him.

“Trinky? What do you think?” The old childhood nickname for the bear had never worn, instead Beau had passed it down to Vesper who would help her continue on Trinket’s name. Strangely enough, she could tell that he didn’t mind it all too much. 

Her first stop when she got into town was indeed to pass over a silver to a fisherman for some fish, a whole silver for the few fish and for him to place it in front of her bear companion as she wanted to get a treat for herself but wanted to avoid getting slime all over her hands. He took the offer easily, greeting her as Lady Beauregard before depositing the requisitioned meat for Trinket. “There you go, eat up!” she patted the bear’s hide before quickly scurrying away over to a pastry cart to get something for herself.

She got a little necklace for Vex, one with a bear charm on the end of it that Beau’d been eyeing since the last time she went into the market with one of her caretakers. For Percy, she saw an adorable crow miniature made of stone that the shopkeep had kept aside for her when she asked if she could come back and get it when she wasn’t with someone. And finally, for Keyleth, she got her some seeds from a trader who wasn’t from Tal’dorei, someone from a continent she’d been to but Keyleth hadn’t- Wildemount. Where she had met that boy and where Percy had gotten the last crops for her.

Even after what she got, she still had about two silvers left and was eager to put them to good use. Not exactly buying something nor giving them back to her parents like she probably should have done, but something that  _ she  _ thought was a good idea. 

So, Beau spied a beggar who looked rather out of place in one of the sections of town reserved for passersby. They were wrapped in different shades of green and blue, seemingly in disguise, most likely for reasons such as they didn’t want anyone to see their face in case they were run off for soliciting. It made sense to her, but maybe her little silvers would help get them enough money to get off the street for the night, maybe clean up a little so they could get work.

Trinket rumbled, unsure of what they were doing but Beau hushed him, getting close to the beggar. “Hi.” She said, placing her coin in the little change cup next to them. Surprised eyes flicked up to her, showing off colours that resembled the earth around her, different swirls of brown, green and blue that made her question  _ who _ was in front of her. Not her action, she wouldn’t regret giving coin to someone who needed it but she was… a little putoff by the magic that seemed to radiate from this mysterious vagrant. 

“Thank you.” A gentle, feminine voice said and Beau felt like she’d been struck in the middle of her chest at how soft it was, stunned for a brief moment. 

Until there was shouting, someone summoning the guards to come get the solicitors off their property. Beau may have accidentally punched someone for trying to grab her, her first thought was to get this woman somewhere safe because her circumstances shouldn’t mean that she was arrested. Somehow, she managed to escape the clutches of the much larger person, pushing her new friend forward and forcing her to run ahead of her as Beau yelled at Trinket to get her parents, the bear conflicted for a moment but deciding that was the best course of action in the end.

They were doing fine, Beau knew the town well, a lot of the backstreets and places that they could evade the guards up until they came across a fucking  _ fence.  _ “Up!” Beau pointed upwards, ready to use all her miniscule strength to boost the thin woman up over it. It probably meant that she’d be captured and dragged down to the stockade but that was a risk she was willing to take, especially since Trinket would be able to bring her parents down. He’d track her down and they’d get her out, she’d apologize for making a scene and they would  _ listen _ to her, they always did whenever she did something sort of stupid with noble intentions.

“Are you certain?” The woman’s voice held a weird, motherly quality to it that made Beau feel a little more sure about what she was doing. If this person was a kid’s mother, then she was  _ definitely _ going to help her get away from some dumb guards. 

Beau heard yelling, heavy footsteps as the guards drew closer and closer. She took a deep breath, steeled herself further into her stance and said, “Yes.”

  
  


\-------

The guards here  _ sucked _ , they had no qualms about handing her the punishment over her refusal to comply about giving up who she saw. Beau knew better than to try and talk, despite her sort of regal upbringing, she had a bad habit of putting her foot in her mouth, much like her mama Keyleth and she damn knew it. So, she had kept quiet in order to make things easier on herself but the two keeping an eye on her didn’t give a damn about proper protocol and all that shit. 

Even worse, they seemed be entirely too new at this to be guarding prisoners, so they had no clue who she actually was. Such as that may have been, nobody should be putting their hands on someone under their supervision and while they were in fucking chains!

She fumed silently, but waited. Ever since she’d started working out all her energy in the form of training with her family, she could nurse a bruise with no problem but it still fucking sucked when there wasn’t someone with a healing spelling  _ right _ there for when things calmed down. ‘ _ Mama Vex can help. _ ’ Beau breathed in, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the cell wall as she imagined her moms and their healing magics. Nothing quite like her Aunt Pike but it was enough that it was a source of comfort for her while her face twinged in pain and blood seeped out of her nose onto her shirt.

A loud bang sounded from upstairs not even an hour later, someone storming in with all the fury of the Dawnfather as they threw the door open. “ _ Where is my daughter?”  _ The furious sounds of her dad, Percy rang throughout the garrison and honestly, Beau wasn’t surprised that they were here so fast. Teleporting nearby would be almost useless since they were in the same area, so it was likely they all  _ ran _ here after Trinket was able to communicate what happened downtown. 

  
  


The two guards watching her suddenly paled when the three of them stormed into the holding area, more than a little pissed off at what they knew to have transpired. Vex made short work of opening the cell, not waiting for someone to open it with a proper key and rushed in to touch Beau’s face, cupping it gently to pour her little magics into her, healing what wounds she had received from the chase and then from the guards.

After hours on the cold floor and getting elbowed for not talking, Beau finally broke down crying and launched herself into Vex’s arms while Keyleth and Percy laid into the men just outside the cell. She vaguely heard them call for the Lawmaster, firm on getting the two punished for laying hands on a child,  _ their _ child. It’d make her feel better if she hadn’t been so scared that she’d have been stuck here with them waiting to lay into her if she even breathed wrong. 

“I want my stuff.” Beau murmured into Vex’s neck, feeling her mother’s fingers briefly tighten in her hair and against her back before she relaxed to continue whispering words of comfort to her. 

Vex reassured her that they’d get it, something Beau firmly believed in and was a little perkier after at the prospect of seeing if the gifts she’d gotten for her parents were still intact after the chase through the town and then the rough handling that she’d been on the receiving end of.

On the way out the doors, Beau saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her pause, causing Vex to stumble as she had been guiding the four of them away from the jail. A ragged looking cloaked figure was sitting on the fountain in the square, eyeing them until the weathered face broke out into a gentle grin at seeing Beau. She waved excitedly, glad that they got away even while Beau took the brunt of the punishment. 

A hand waved back and Beau felt something wash over her, a blessing of sorts as well as the fact that her clothes were now pristine whereas before they were torn, dirty and definitely a little bloody after everything that had happened. “What in the-?” Percy saw the way Beau’s clothes just magically cleaned themselves up and he even blinked a couple times, disbelief clear across his face.

“Beau?” Keyleth distracted Beau from whoever she was staring at, even looking herself at whatever had captured her daughter’s attention but she only saw a flash of smoke before whoever had been there had disappeared. Unless Beau had made friends with a deity, it was very likely that there was an arcane user messing with her daughter which was… definitely a problem for later. 

They got back to the castle, Beau excitedly delving into her bag to see the trinkets and seeds for her parents still in perfect condition. So excited she was, that she didn’t pay attention to the fact that she could feel the little beating of life coming from the seeds that Keyleth readily accepted. 

Another problem for later, then.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Nein.

“So, Beau.” Jester flopped down in front of her friend, almost disrupting her out of her spot on the ground where Beau was writing in her journal. Jester got poked in the side for her efforts, a small little squeal escaping the Tiefling before she was able to reign it in and ask, “What’s  _ your _ story?" Then Beau couldn't even answer as Jester gasped, her whole body perking up with ideas coursing through her, "Is it tragic? Is it romantic? Did you leave the Cobalt Soul to search for true love?” She asked about a million more questions while Beau just let her get them out, patiently waiting for her to finish her inquiry.

Yasha glanced over at them, a little bit amused by Jester's antics too. It was a lot more than Beau had been expecting from the normally stoic barbarian but she was… pleased that Yasha wasn't all that serious, no one should be so sad all the time.

“Ah, Jester, you know if you want answers, you gotta let her respond.” Fjord chimed in, disrupting Jester's train of thoughts, a small grimace on his face as if he felt sorry for Beau being on that end of one of her inquisitions. Beau honestly didn’t mind, she was the oldest of almost eight siblings, Jester was just… like any of her other sisters or brothers in asking her all about whatever grownup stuff she was into now. It was nice, after having been away from home for five years with only letters and sendings to keep her sustained on the antics of her family. 

“It’s nothing interesting, really.” She chuckled, poking at a piece of meat over the fire as a fond memory of the last time she was home popped up. It was definitely a few nights before she'd left to seek out adventure, left to find new knowledge and plants even in lands that she wasn't native to. 

Which was a hysterical thought because she  _ knows _ she isn't from Whitestone or Zephrah. She knows she came from a little town in the Empire, a town called Kamordah and that somehow, two year old Beau ran away from her birth parents, The Lionetts, who  _ shunned  _ her. Who resented the fact she'd been born who she was as if her birth father  _ hadn't  _ made a deal with a hag who dealt in misery. 

Beau snorted quietly at that fact but she knew that as much as she knew herself to be a de Rolo, the aspect of her blood lineage would have to be faced sooner or later. Maybe… maybe this new band of people would help her with that, after they got to know each other of course.

“Aw, come on, everyone’s got a story.” Mollymauk said rather lazily, pulling her from her musing. He sounded lazy and disinterested but she knew him well enough by now that he wanted some kind of drama or funny story at the very least. She hated to disappoint him but there was literally  _ nothing _ spectacular about her. She was an ordinary human with a fuckton of combat training.

Well, maybe it was a lie but she didn't  _ feel  _ extraordinary.

“Uh, I have a lot of training?” She offered that piece of information unsurely, an easy enough fact to share when you weren't sure how to play the get to know you game with people who were  _ vastly _ different than what you were used to. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to talk about herself, she’d charmed many people before -despite her foot in mouth tendencies- but being around a group that she had to  _ travel  _ with was extremely different than just rubbing elbows with people who wanted to talk for a night. “Like, more so than the rest of the new monks at the Archive?” 

Jester latched onto that, sitting up eagerly with her tail twitching behind her out of excitement. “Oh? Tell me everything!” She grabbed Beau’s hands, clutching them tightly with a bright, toothy smile on her face that made her flustered for  _ whatever _ reason.

Damn pretty girls, she really was too much like her mom who melted into a giant mess whenever one flashed a smile at her.

Beau gave them the abridged version of how she couldn’t sit still as a kid, started causing some trouble looking for things to do so instead of reprimanding her, she started working out with her family. “Were they monks too?” Yasha asked, surprising Beau with the fact that she was listening.

“Nope, not a damn one of them. My uncle is a barbarian, our first sparring session he threw me so far into a tree that my mom had to come up and get me out while my aunt yelled at him so much that he almost cried. Of course, my dumbass just popped up and said that was so fucking awesome.” Beau mused, remembering the way Grog had seemed so small in front of Pike as she told him off for tossing a nine year old into a tree. Vex had been worried for her health as Keyleth pulled her out but a grin from Beau had told her she’d been more than okay as she wanted to learn how to be stronger like him. 

“A barbarian?” Fjord asked.

“Yeah, a goliath.” she hummed. “His tribe was, uh, the unforgiving kind when he stopped them from killing my great-great granduncle. So, he was brought back, my aunt made him her best friend and still yells at him when he’s being dumb.” Beau snorted at that thought, nothing was funnier than watching a giant goliath barbarian absolutely  _ cowering _ under the force of a tiny gnome's anger. Secretly, she didn't blame him, her aunt Pike was a force to be reckoned with.

Beau was slightly oblivious to the bewildered looks she got as she spectacularly talked about her past without telling them  _ anything _ about herself other than she’s been training for most of her life. Evasion and avoidance had always been what she was good at, so this was no surprise that she could dance circles around the topic if she desired too. 

Maybe one day she’d feel a little more comfortable around them.

\---------

Beau had recognized Caleb. 

Not right off the bat, he was older and dirtier, with longer hair now and threatening to grow out a beard with the stubble that lined his jaw but nevertheless, after his first few appearances of Frumpkin and that one rare smile Nott pulled from him… She remembered the boy she met in the Zemnian Fields almost two decades ago.

He was different, older and more scarred, more reclusive than even the small boy had been. She didn't blame him for changing, obviously and for not remembering her, it's hard to remember something from when you were four or even six-eight years old. Beau definitely was the same girl she was then, again, someone older and more scarred but wiser about the way the world is.

She overhears Caleb and Jester arguing, about money again and how Jester insists 50 gold  _ isn't _ a lot of money. Beau gets the privilege, she grew up with it herself but what she doesn't get is how Jester can't see how her circumstances aren't the same for everyone, especially for most of their group who scrounged to get by a lot of the time.

So, when he smears more dirt on his face and storms off, she goes after him.

He’s crouched down near a stream, looking at his reflection with no small amount of disdain on his face. She made sure to step on a few leaves, even snapped a twig on her way over to him so Beau didn’t accidentally startle him and Caleb hit her with one of his spells. 

That was another thing that was different, he was a fucking  _ sorcerer _ and she thought that was so fucking cool.

“Ja, Beauregard?” He looked up at her wearily and she plopped down beside him, definitely startling him now with her willingness to keep him company. 

Instead of talking, she reached inside her satchel and pulled out a book that she bought when in town to give to him. It was from a little table that had offered many books on the arcane arts, some were obviously fake, Beau could tell just from having spent enough time around her aunt Allura firstly. Secondly, she didn’t feel… magic radiating off of them, another ability she had the she attributed to growing up around magic and the like. This book, one detailing more of the elemental magic from the Ashari standpoint, one she knew her mother had a hand in getting out to the common world just to share some of their insight, was  _ brimming _ with new things to learn, new ways to understand the magic of the world around them.

Caleb gingerly took the book from her, staring at it for a long moment and then at her, clearly confused with the gift. “I… do not understand. You have given me a book?”

“You like books.”

“Ja, I do but… why?”

“It’s on Ashari magic, they’re the druidic tribes that guard the weakspots in the elemental realms where they bleed into our world.” He seemed a little surprised by her sudden knowledge dump, it made her a little shy because she’d already become known as the dumb one apparently. “Sorry.” 

“For what? You are a monk from a group of  _ librarians,  _ you with books does not surprise me nor you knowing about things. You with… knowledge of magic does.” Oh, well, that was fair. He looked down at the book, a new little excitement blooming across his face at the thought of learning something new. “I am no druid but this is-” Caleb swallowed, fingers twitching a little as he wanted to dive into reading the new material right here and now, “-very exciting.”

Beau snorted. “Shit man, I’m no druid either but like, hey, more understanding is better or something?”

“I agree.” Caleb nodded before his excitement overtook him and he opened the book eagerly. Beau grinned, pleased that her gift went well and successfully distracted him from his fight with Jester so hopefully he wouldn’t be so hot when he came back to the group. 

She stood up, ready to leave and go pester Fjord over something when Caleb’s hand reached up and grabbed her wrist, the contact surprising them both. “Ah, wait, what do I… owe you?” He had a new frown on his face as he was already calculating how much coin he had on him and what he was about to have to pay her back for. 

“Uh, nothing?” He didn’t seem like he believed her. “Or, shit, let me read it after you? It was a gift and hey, if you learn any new magic that helps keep our asses alive, I’ll consider that even.” Really, she didn’t want anything in return for it. She had coin left over from some of their odd jobs, the book wasn’t even expensive for her because she  _ had _ money and knew how to use it, unlike poor Jester but Beau had confidence that Jester could learn how to manage herself better the longer they all traveled together.

A tense moment passed before Caleb snapped and he made Frumpkin appear, the fey-cat eagerly climbing up to sit on Beau’s shoulders and purred loudly in her ear. She made a little noise of delight at that, petting Frumpkin between his ears and scratching at the side of his face. “Sweet! I’ve got some fish I can give him!” She didn’t wait for him to tell her why he summoned Frumpkin, intent on figuring out if magic cats like dried fish or pork bits better. 

\---------

“Hey, Caduceus?” Beau whispered to him when he was settling down for one of his nightly routines, tea and an hour of meditation to commune with the nature around him in order to get dream from the Wildmother or something like that. 

He looked a little surprised that someone was interrupting him but then saw it was her, giving her a slow, patient smile when he realized. “Ah, Ms. Beauregard. I am… a little busy but I can help if you need it.” 

Actually, she had kind of wanted to ask him things about the Wildmother, Melora. She knew  _ who _ she was, objectively, her mother had somewhat of a connection to her just from being a druid and the Voice of the Tempest but Beau had never met someone who followed her, hell, Caduceus was some all important paragon for her if she was understanding anything he’d told her right. That being said, he was definitely the right person to ask but she didn’t want to be annoying or imposing in any way. 

“I just… what is the Wildmother like?” She sat down across from him, careful not to disturb his teapot that was boiling gently on the little fire he had. 

If he was surprised by her asking, he didn’t show it. Instead, he pulled out another cup from his bag nearby and invited her to stay, to listen to what he had to say and see if she could see for herself through meditation. “The Wildmother is… caring.” He told her, trying to word whatever he was saying carefully as to not put her off, or at least that’s what she was assuming he was doing. “She is the mother of the world around us, mother to the natural world that many of us take for granted.” 

Beau nodded, she remembered growing up in her mother’s garden, how Keyleth always told her to be appreciative of the nature that surrounded them. Such as nature helped provide for them, it could be cruel and take away, it could lash back out if it felt like it was in more danger than it was supposed to be in. Vex taught her to use the world around her to her advantage, how to run through a forest while trusting in yourself to navigate without falling over. 

“Would you like to join me in meditation?” Caduceus left the decision up to her. He knew she was just curious in general, not beholden to any god or goddess, not even The Knowing Mistress despite Beau being a member of an organization that follows her. He, himself, never needed anyone to be beside him while he communed but Caduceus could admit, it was nice to have someone so genuinely curious.

Beau fidgeted a little, accepting the teacup he placed in her vicinity. If there had to be a goddess that she felt drawn to, would it be so bad to be the goddess of nature where she was most comfortable? Maybe she could just learn a little bit first, suss it out to make sure this whole thing was legit. 

So, with a deep breath, she gingerly accepted his offer to meditate with him, unaware of the way that the plants in the room thrummed with a new energy that wasn’t associated with Caduceus.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My name isn't Viridian. I'm from Tal'dorei. My name is Vilya." 
> 
> \---------
> 
> In which Beau escorts Vilya and the Nein to the place where she grew up in order to reunite her mother and grandmother.

_ My name isn’t Viridian. I’m from Tal’dorei. My name is Vilya.  _

Beau felt like the earth had suddenly been yanked out from underneath her as Viridian, no,  _ Vilya _ remembered who she really was. There was no way, her mom’s- mom, Beau’s grandma? She was  _ alive!  _ After so many years, so many stories told from Keyleth and from her grandfather alike, she almost-

“Beauregard?” Vilya’s voice made her squeak and fall out of the tree she was hiding out in to process this news. Luckily for her, she’s fallen out of enough things that it was second nature for her to land in a three point stance to lessen the ache from the impact. “Oh, oh no-” Vilya came over and her hands hovered over Beau’s arms with a small amount of healing magic emanating from them, unaware of the fact that she was standing in front of her granddaughter. “Are you alright? I did not mean to startle you.”

“I’m fine.” Her strangled voice told Vilya that she was very much  _ not  _ okay but she wasn’t sure how to break the ice with a sort of relative who’d been missing for close to 30 years. Beau wanted to tell her everything, she needed Vilya to know that her family was still hoping that she was alive and that she’d come home. That Keyleth never gave up hope that she was alive because stranger things had happened before than the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Vilya had so many grandkids to get to know, so many people that Keyleth surrounded herself with to learn to love. 

“I can find my way home, if it’s too much trouble.” Vilya disrupted her again, her voice gentle and motherly and Beau wanted to swaddle herself into it. Gods, no wonder where Keyleth got her gentleness from. It made her miss home even more, miss her moms and her father and just  _ everyone. _

“No! I promised you that we would help you home and we  _ will _ .” Beau said resolutely. She didn’t care if the rest of the group didn’t want to leave, they could stay and Beau would escort Vilya to Allura’s castle and then to Whitestone where her mother most likely would be, depending if she was away from the Tribe to see her spouses. If she was with the tribe, then they could use the Suntree to teleport to Zephrah from there but Vilya wasn’t going to go  _ alone _ . Beau would protect Vilya, she’d lay down her life if she had to just so her mom could see  _ her own mother _ again. 

  
  


The Nein happily followed them to Whitestone after stopping by Allura’s tower via the teleportation circle, all of them clearly excited to explore somewhere new. Beau was slightly nervous herself, not only was it getting harder to hide who she was to her grandmother, but it’d been at least five years since she’d last been home. Nothing compared to the 30 that Vilya had been gone, but long enough that her parents and siblings were sure to attack her upon arrival into the Keep. 

“You know where you’re going.” Yasha pulled up beside her on her horse, making a casual observation that had her sweating slightly because she still hadn’t fully revealed herself to these people that she called her family. “You’ve been here before? And how do you know-” she never got the answer to her questions.

Beau stopped her talking and everyone’s movement when she noticed something strange. Ever since she was a child and since she was a child of the legendary Vox Machina, she knew about the traps that surrounded Whitestone and the sigils that would flare up to the Grey Hunt if the castle ever were in trouble. She learned about them from the various trips she made with Percy and Vex outside the walls, now easily recognizing that there was a danger inside her home and she  _ had  _ to help, her parents- her siblings-

Her  _ home _ . 

She kicked her horse into action, sudden fury lighting up her soul at the thought of her family being in danger and she flew forwards, ignoring the confused cries of the Nein and Vilya until they kicked up into high gear to follow after her into the heart of Whitestone. 

Her home had already suffered enough under the Briarwoods and everything that followed them. Beau could tell there were people fighting back in the streets, intent on keeping their homes and killing the fucking  _ undead _ that littered the way now. Guards helped, Beau could almost swear she saw recognition on their faces as she rode in and there was  _ elation _ from people being shouted after her and the Nein as they headed towards the castle. 

The eldest de Rolo had returned home and she brought  _ help _ .

Such as the Nein would have thought, Beau didn’t storm into the Castle. Beau knew every single passage way around the enemy forces that lingered, undead shambling around in their disinterested way of keeping watch at their commander's beck and call. That wasn’t a good, the undead, it meant that either a lich or a necromancer meant bad things could have happened to her moms, father and siblings already and she could be too  _ late.  _

"What do you think?" Fjord muttered to her, his presence comforting at her side as they crawled slowly overhead to get to the center room where her family was likely holed up. It was the place with the best defenses, magic and nature alike as well as being riddled with traps that would go off if her father detonated them.

Beau fought back a growl. 

"And how do you know this place so well?" Veth posed that question, which just made Beau sigh this time. "No, I think we deserve to know why you charged into this foreign place with the fury of eight krakens." 

"Veth, can we talk about this  _ later _ ?" Beau hissed at her halfling friend and turned away just in time to catch Vilya's kind gaze. She flushed, hoping that her grandmother hadn't seen through her but if anyone could understand her need to have business handled  _ first _ , it would most likely be her. Not that the Nein didn't get it but… 

Jester made a small gasp as it seemed to click into place for her. "Oh." She, too, gave Beau a soft, kind and  _ understanding _ look that made her flush. "Veth, I think… I think this can wait. Definitely until after we kill whatever asshole is here." 

Veth agreed to that, especially after Caleb almost nudged her off when she seemed mutinous.

They came to a crawl above the center of the ballroom, a magical forcefield surrounding Vex, Keyleth, Percy and all of the children. They looked roughed up, a little bloody but still alive and they were protecting the children from getting too close to the orcish magister who was deep in thought. Presumably about what he was going to do with them, not that Beau would let him get a chance to harm a hair on their heads any further. 

“Vilya.” Beau murmured, getting the Druid’s attention. There would be a lot of natural elements for her to manipulate surrounding Beau's home, side effects of her mothers influence over the way the place had been rebuilt so they could easily use that to their advantage should a situation like this ever arise. “There’s vines along the outer wall, strong enough to restrain.” she murmured to her, gesturing to a few spots in particular where they'd slip through holes in the wall easily. "Try to cut the undead off and we'll get all of them out of the way."

Vilya's eyes were  _ locked _ onto the half-elven woman in the center of the shield, her long, red hair something that was easily discernible no matter how high they could be. What stood out more was the headpiece, a circlet supporting antlers and then a mantle of leaves draped around her shoulders, leaves of varying colours that belied a weight far heavier than most would understand. "Is… Is that-?" Her voice was choked up and even as her eyes welled up with tears, she couldn't help but look between Beau and Keyleth.

"Yeah. It's Keyleth, um, she's my… my  _ mom _ ." Beau whispered to her, taking in a little shaky breath as the weight of that sentiment seemed to fully register with Vilya.

But they'd wasted enough time already so Beau would have to answer questions later, she had a semi solid plan to attack this fucker from all angles to get him down  _ quick _ without harming her family any further. At least, she tried to remain until she saw the orc reach out through the shield to grab Vex who had sassed him when he was debating how to kill them. 

There was no way that he should have been able to do that! He shouldn't have been able to touch them with the anti-foe shield- 

All Beah saw was  _ red.  _ “ _ Let her go you fucking asshole! _ ” She screamed, gathering almost an impossible amount of attention to herself and dive-bombed him from the ceiling, slamming into his face full force with her staff before driving him away from her mother. Beau didn’t turn her back on him as the Nein dropped in after her, all of them using magic or their natural acrobatics to get to the floor with ease while Vilya was using the plants to help herself down. 

The magister held his face, growling as he used the necrotic energy from his undead to heal the damage she dealt when she dove into him. “What are  _ you _ ?” He couldn't seem to understand that a puny  _ human  _ had been able to deal such a devastating blow to him.

“Your worst fucking nightmare since you fucked with my family!” Beau snarled and lunged forward, forgetting all about her plan for the moment in order to satisfy her blood lust.

The battle that ensued was one of their toughest yet, even after Caleb and Caduces got the force field properly down so that her parents could join the fight. It was hard enough due to just the sheer number of undead soldiers the orc kept rising from the dead to attack them. 

"Beauregard!" Percy finally managed to get over to her, worrying over her as his eyes laid on her for the first time in five years. She was…  _ wildly _ different than the kid who walked out to go soul searching and he loved her fiercely all the same, he just didn't know where to start processing the fact that his eldest daughter was an adventurer like he had been. 

Nor the fact that she apparently was a  _ monk of the Cobalt Soul. _

"Hey pops." She ducked around a column, panting a bit after dodging another necrotic blast. "I'll explain after we deal with him, the kids okay?" Beau asked, taking a minute to recharge while the far away fighters dealt more damage.

He frowned, pursing his lips a little but ultimately, he accepted her at her word. "Yes, your mothers got them out to safety before they came back." He gestured to where Vex and Keyleth were re-entering the fray after sneaking the kids to safety. No doubt they were teleported to family who were aware of the situation but unable to help currently as Whitestone was under siege.

Again.

Beau nodded though, happy that was something she didn't have to worry about at least. "Beau!" Veth came scrambling over, ignoring Percy and now Vex who had joined her in her hiding spot. Vex's eyes were glued to her eldest, relief visible on her face at seeing Beau in one piece but the confusion was clear as it felt like she was  _ leading _ something here.

"Jessie's going to open a dimension door to another plane, we need to get him into it." Veth explained what Jester told her.

That made sense actually. "Yeah, if we cut off his influence, the dead will… Go back to being dead?" She warbled, a little unsure but it was better to get him the fuck away where he couldn't  _ control  _ the dead anymore at least.

Veth nodded and winced as they heard Yasha roar loudly, glancing around just in time to watch her cleave three undead in half with a large sweep of her broadsword. The four of them gaping in awe at how she immediately turned, tearing her way through more that kept trying to get at Caleb while he ran around and cast spells at the orc.

Beau shuddered a little. Well  _ fuck _ , that was hotter than it should have been. 

They paused as they heard a scream, Beau's heart dropping through her stomach as she recognized that sound as Vilya. She dashed out from cover, ignoring the noises telling her to stay put and she ran over to where the damn magister had her grandmother in a magical death grip, no doubt siphoning her energy from her. "Jester!" Beau yelled, signaling for her to open the dimension door so she could pummel him into it. It didn't matter if she was dragged somewhere else away from her family, alone with a necromancer, as long as everyone else was safe and Whitestone didn't have to deal with these damn undead any longer. 

Time seemed to slow as Beau heard her name shouted again, but she didn't hear it as she kept her focus off the way Vilya's face contorted in pain. She vaguely felt the magic shifting through the air as a glowing green rift opened behind the orc. (She would note later that it was different than Jester's usual dimension door.) 

Beau used her staff as a vault to launch herself upwards and gain momentum to crash the damn warlock through the gates of Hell if she had to. Time seemed to slow even, almost poetic as she dove forward to sacrifice her safety for the safety of her family. Vex and Keyleth's screaming made her  _ painfully  _ aware they had already seen someone close to them sacrifice themself for the greater good and it seemed that Beau was continuing the family tradition.

The last thing she remembered before her feet would connect to his chest was her shouting, "Keep your  _ fucking _ hands off my grandmother!" and then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little perspective on the battle from Vex, Keyleth and Percy's perspective as their adventurous daughter returns home, heralding the safety of the city with her friends in tow and reuniting Keyleth with her mother.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Vex as she watched her daughter, missing for five years in an unexplored territory (for them at least) plummet from the ceiling while screaming with all the fury of a woman scorned. Vex gaped, visibly as Beauregard hit the mark dead on, someone who's done this before obviously. That much was clear but what was so  _ new _ was the purpose that seemed to shine from her, her new strength that showed in her body and on her face as she raged. 

So focused was she on Beau, she almost missed how Percy and Keyleth picked her up, clearly worried over her after that damn orc, Oglen had threatened her so overtly in front of them. "Gods, are you okay?" Keyleth asked her, worriedly checking her over for any injuries that might appear and she could treat. 

"Dear lord, is that-?" Percy thankfully seemed to pick up on the fighting outside the barrier. His own jaw dropped as Beau moved across the ground in a manner that relayed her familiarity with the terrain but with the added ferocity of someone with extensive training. " _ Beauregard? _ "

Keleth finally looked over but her vision was quickly distorted by a man in a long overcoat with a mess of reddish-brown hair and a scraggly beard. He was accompanied by a tall creature, one they've never seen before but had heard plenty about, a firbolg who bore the symbol of The Wildmother on his outfit. It meant they were friendly, at least, no doubt companions of Beau out of the group that seemed to descend from the Heavens after her divebomb from the rafters. 

"Where you-" the dirtier man started- "trapped in here?" He was looking at the base of the barrier, touching the shimmering shield gently and wincing a little when it zapped him. 

"It's a defense mechanism." Percy glanced at him while every part of him wanted to be out there where the action was. He didn't  _ like _ to fight anymore but his eldest was out there and he'd be damned if he didn't want to be right by her side while she tore through undead with a large barbarian woman by her side. 

They were going to fill the two strangers in but then their breath was taken away as Beau paused, hit her fists together and fucking  _ lightning  _ crackled from the gloves she wore. The barbarian struck heavily into one of the sterner monsters, filling its vision with her enraged visage before tucking away to let Beau launch over her to allow her fists to rain down electrical damage on the stumbling undead. 

It went down almost effortlessly.

The crying of their children brought them back to what was right in front of them real damn quick. "He turned it against us, the shield. You need to disable it." Percy punched at the side of the shimmering magic in front of him for good measure, wincing as it definitely bruised his knuckles in the process. 

"I believe you can dispell it, can you not?" The firbolg asked the sorcerer in front of them.

"Ja, help me though." Zemnian, they all definitely recognized that so they knew this man was from the Empire which was somewhat of an indication of where Beau had been for five years. "Meine schwester seems to have a handle on most of whatever is happening behind us." 

The fibolg looked amused. "Indeed she does, Mr. Caleb." 

Keyleth was the one who recognized that name, her eyebrows shooting upwards at the fact that this scrawny man was the boy their daughter had befriended when Percy made his trip to the Zemnian Fields so long ago. It was impossible to believe for a moment that two souls, so different and from such differing countries could come back together as practically new individuals and forge a new bond that ran deeper than anyone could imagine. Particularly because Keyleth was certain he had just called Beau his  _ sister _ .

Once the shield was down, the noise from the undead and from the fighting got  _ louder _ . "Come, we alerted Allura that something was happening so you all can go to her tower-" Caleb didn't touch them outright, knowing that they'd already had enough done to them without another stranger placing his hands on one of their family.

Vex looked surprised, tearing her eyes away from Keaton who was clutching to her leg, terrified out of his mind. "You know Allura? Are you the motley crew she met in Wildemount?" And why in all of Exandria did she not mention that  _ Beau _ was with them?

Caduceus nodded and they were ushered further away.

\----------

Percy made a beeline over to where Beau was behind a pillar with Vex not too far behind him. Keyleth turned away, as much as she wanted to run over and swaddle her daughter in her arms, she had to try and provide some sort of support to the front line that was still dancing around and taking out skeletons while Caleb and… another druid dealt magical damage to Oglen. She idly hoped that it was her mother but Keyleth  _ really _ could not see that far and through a lot of the smoke and dust that gathered around made it hard to see the druid.

But she felt a pull to go that way, why was that? 

"Hi! I'm Jester and you are definitely in a bad spot!" Keyleth heard before she was tackled out of the way of an incoming necrotic magic blast. She was grateful that someone was paying attention but  _ gods _ , did whoever take her down have to have the strength of Grog? 

A blue tiefling with a grin as sweet as cupcakes was sitting on top of her, tail flicking behind her absentmindedly. For a moment, they were both frozen on the ground, staring at each other as if sizing the other up before Jester popped up, held her hand out to Keyleth and yanked her clean off the ground like she weighed nothing. "Wow! You're, like, really tall." The tiefling looked up at her, fangs poking out as her grin widened and it was almost too endearing for Keyleth to handle.

"Or you're just short." Keyleth felt like she had had this conversation before, probably with Vax when he was with them in the beginning. That thought made her heart tug a little fondly, a small smile on her face. 

Before she cracked a vine into a skeleton's skull, sending it flying out of the door with the force of her attack.

"That was  _ cool! _ " Jester grinned, bouncing on her toes before summoning a green, divine like energy and mimicking her vines with her spiritual energy and sending her own foes out of their reach. 

"Jessie!" The half-orc ran over to them, a little ragged as he'd been up close and personal with Oglen for a good while. She immediately healed him when he came closer, pausing long enough for Keyleth to scrutinize him and the symbol of Melora that he bore around his neck. "Are you okay? And you…?" His eyes turned to her, filled with no less concern than he had for his companion which spoke levels of how much he actually cared. 

"I'm Keyleth." She filled in helpfully, watching the two sets of eyes in front of her widen as they gaped at each other for a moment. Did they know of her and Vox Machina over in Wildemount? She wouldn't be  _ surprised _ per se but it was a little strange all the same. "I'm the leader of the Air Ashari, Voice of the Tempest."

The two exchanged a series of gestures, thoroughly confusing Keyleth before the half-orc introduced himself as Fjord, a paladin of the Wildmother and Jester, a cleric for the Traveller. She got more info on how he hadn't  _ actually  _ been a god until Jester believed in him and how he was  _ actually  _ an archfey named-

Oh, she wanted to  _ kill _ him.

Just as they heard Veth, the halfling woman who had been over with the others, yell for Jester to ready a dimension door, they all heard a woman screaming as Oglen had finally snapped and grabbed the other druid in one hand, lifting her clean off the ground and proceeded to choke the life out of her. Keyleth's heart dropped as the face she hadn't been able to make out finally came into view and though, she was older and a lot more worn out, it was impossible for her to  _ not _ recognize Vilya, her fucking mother who they thought dead. 

The lack of a leg gave it away even more, confirming the building dread inside of Keyleth. She didn't know if she could get over there in time, if she was going to experience the joy of seeing her mother again then have it ripped away, replaced with crushing defeat as Oglen was in the process of trying to kill her. 

Then a feral scream sounded, " _ Get your hands off my fucking grandmother! _ " as Beau appeared out of nowhere and she as well as Oglen went through a glowing green portal that promptly shut, causing all the undead in Whitestone to crumble to dust, swept away in the next breeze that rattled through the bruised town. 

They were all shell shocked, unable to move as they processed what the fuck just happened. All except the last woman that Keyleth hadn't met, the tall barbarian woman with a rage that burned so fiercely, she would have thought her blessed by fire, gingerly walked over to where Beau and Oglen had disappeared and touched the air. When her hand met nothing, she collapsed to her knees and  _ greived _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that maybe, we should do a perspective change!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New friends, old friends and reunions all in order to bring Beau back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this taking so long but thank you all for your patience! :D

Yasha. 

That was the name of the last of the group that called themselves the Mighty Nein. The little adventuring band of seven that was now six, all heartbroken in their own ways over Beau disappearing from sight and from this  _ plane _ . Jester had immediately tried scrying on her, only to meet something like a block that didn't allow her to see Beau anymore. Caduceus tried as well, frowning as he didn't feel an overwhelming amount of support from his matron goddess like he usually did when he was trying to help his friends. 

"I can still feel her but it's not as strong." He seemed bothered by this, the negative emotion shining through on his face which disturbed his companions. 

Vex went over to Yasha, the barbarian still knelt down on the ground where Beau had disappeared. Her own heart was hurting and she'd grieve when she was alone with Percy and Keyleth, but she also knew Beau wouldn't sacrifice herself without a plan to return or without a massive amount of trust in the company she kept. They'd summon allies to help, Allura would no doubt hear of this and bring who she can so they could search for wherever Beau ended up. That much gave her comfort personally so she could try and break through whatever trance this Yasha was in. 

"You're Yasha." Vex crouched beside her, managing to break some of the trance the other woman was in. She'd heard a few things from Beau, her daughter had enough mind to send letters to them every so often so as to not worry them too much, but she never mentioned that Yasha apparently had the most expressive eyes that were of differing colours. 

Oh, yeah, she could see how Beau fell in love with this woman, even if she hadn't admitted it out loud yet. 

"I'm sorry." Yasha whispered roughly, swiping at her eyes furiously to stave off some of the tears that had started spilling down her cheeks.

Vex chuckled, she knew what Yasha was feeling and it wasn't her fault. There wasn't anything she could say to make her feel better, no, Yasha seemed like the type who would blame herself for things out of her control no matter what. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my daughter is extremely headstrong." She always had been, Keyleth used to joke that  _ she  _ was a tempest in her own right, a storm that was building in strength until it would crash and break against a jagged cliff face.

Not the best analogy her wife has ever had but that's one reason why she adores Keyleth.

Speaking of Keyleth, Vex turns towards where she heard her last to see her wrapped up tightly in the arms of the druid that Beau had called- "Oh  _ shit. _ " Vex suddenly realized what exactly had happened,  _ why _ Beau had dived into Oglen in order to save not just any druid, but her grandmother, Keyleth's long lost mother, Vilya. A soft ache swelled in her heart, one that had already been planted there from the moment the portal closed but was now just getting exponentially larger. 

"I've got her." Fjord, the half-orc, gently touched her shoulder which almost made her flinch but she remembered how Beau talked about him, how he was her captain when they went sailing, how she said the two of them have grown a lot together. Now, Vex had a feeling there was more to the entire story than she realized. "We can talk later, after we take stock of what's happened." He continued, squeezing her shoulder which gave Vex a  _ strong _ feeling that this was something he did for Beau whenever she allowed herself to be upset.

She reached up and squeezed his hand, wishing she could convey every single emotion she had towards him for being her daughter's friend. Instead, Vex made sure he knew that he and his friends were welcome in Whitestone whenever they wanted to be here. 

No conditions necessary.

\---------

"Mom." Keyleth murmured over and over, her voice raspy due to the sheer amount of tears she had been shedding for the past ten minutes. Her arms tightened around Vilya, as if she were afraid that she'd disappear again and Keyleth wanted to believe that she  _ wouldn't,  _ but given the fact that in exchange for having her mother in her arms, she had just lost her eldest daughter through a portal of some kind.

When would she stop losing people? When would they all stop losing their family to otherworldly events?

"Oh my sweet Keyleth." Vilya almost couldn't believe that this was her daughter, so much older and more powerful than she ever thought Keyleth would be. She was also really tall, Vilya didn't quite know where she got the height from but she was gladly pressed into her daughter's chest, hearing her heart beating under her ear and just feeling her breathe for the first time in too long. Reluctantly, she pulled back but only so she could cup Keyleth's face and get a good look at her.

She was still her Keyleth, in ways, there was evidence of smile lines which indicated that wherever she had gone, Keyleth had always been able to laugh and find some bright side to whatever dark day that had been around at the time. As much as she was the same in some aspects, there were quite a few new things. 

The biggest one was the mantle she wore, closely followed by a look of heartache and loss in Keyleth's eyes intermingled with a hope that Vilya was  _ back _ and it really was her. Gods, she had put her daughter through so much and it hadn't even really been her fault, but all the same, she still felt guilty for the fact that Keyleth now had the weight of the world, their home, on her shoulders to carry when it should have been her instead. 

Veth had some point they  _ had  _ to go home, to face their pasts or what they've done no matter who's fault it was. Vilya knew, logically, that it would take a while for her and Keyleth to bond again, especially after all the other had been through since they separated. Maybe, maybe now that they were together again, they could learn how to be there for each other and considering the way Keyleth couldn't look away from her, she had to feel like they could start over and be okay too. 

Right? 

Someone who's name she didn't know gingerly approached them, she was a half-elf too with jet black hair and a soft look on her face as she looked at Keyleth then at Vilya. Ah, someone close to her daughter then, if the familiarity was anything to go by. The man with the messy hair was the same, coming over and kneeling beside Keyleth even as she still wouldn't let go of Vilya. 

Beauregard had called Vilya her grandmother, meaning that Keyleth was her mother. Obviously adopted, but still, family knew no bounds and Vilya was smart enough to gather that her daughter had made a lot of friends that turned into family at some point. That also meant that Beau had at least another parent and with the way these two were looking at her Keyleth, Vilya suspected that it was closer to three. 

The thought that Keyleth had two partners didn't disgust her, she was overjoyed that she found not just one person, but two people who loved and respected her so deeply that they committed to her wholly and irrevocably. 

"Mom…?" Keyleth's voice was hesitant, as if she was still afraid that Vilya would disappear again. 

"I'm  _ here _ , Keyleth." Hopefully her intuition was still intact after years of being away and being mind controlled to forget who she was and where she'd come from. 

Keyleth sniffled, "I, uh, want to introduce you to my wife, Vex'ahlia and my husband, Percy. They… they're in charge of Whitestone here." 

\---------

"We know she's still…  _ there _ but neither of us can get her to talk to us. It's more than a little disconcerting." Caduceus frowned, looking deeply troubled by the fact that the Wildmother's strength wasn't as strong as it should be. Especially during their commune, she would usually guide him or grant him the strength he needed to carry out whatever he had deemed was worth his energies. 

Fjord didn't like this either. "I'm worried about it too, I'm worried about Beau." 

"She's more than capable of handling herself." Vex hadn't known Yasha for long but she knew that this woman would follow her daughter through hell and back just to stay by her side. 

"We- That's not why I'm worried. She  _ is _ my friend too." 

Yasha stiffened, crossing her arms and glaring down angrily at the table in front of them. There hadn't been much for her to say after Beau disappeared, she had cried for a while, grieving over the fact that her… something had vanished where she couldn't follow before getting up with a fiery determination that they  _ had  _ to find her. She couldn't lose anyone else, not again and not  _ Beau _ of all people.

They were at a loss as to what to do now, all of them and everything hurt. Not just their bodies, that would be the easiest to heal but what were they supposed to do about it when none of them could scry on her? That fact was made more tortuous by the fact that Vex, Keyleth and Jester could all  _ feel _ her life energy but they couldn’t get a lock on her location, they couldn’t see her to see if she was okay. They were all in the dark with no light to guide the path as one of the major deities that led two of the Nein (as well as had connections to Keyleth and Beau by virtue of being connected to the nature around them) was dark. 

  
  


The hopelessness just continued to mount while they all exchanged sorrowful glances, Jester in particular was in silent tears while she tried praying and scrying again even though she had to be exhausted. Keyleth tried too, just the scrying while she was leaning heavily into Percy’s side with Vex on his other side. They held onto each other, trying to draw strength from each other as the full force of the events of the past month finally, finally caught up to them. The entire start of the ordeal with Oglen trying to conquer the Barony of Whitestone, raising armies of undead when he gained enough power to attack their home directly and then how he turned their defenses against them by violating the magic that made it exist.

He never counted on their eldest,  _ they _ didn’t expect her to appear out of nowhere, enraged and absolutely savage as she attacked the warlock with all of her newfound strength. They didn’t know the friends she had made would follow her into hellfire without thought, didn’t expect the strength of the Mighty Nein or the fact that she had found Keyleth’s mother with her friends. Beau had always been a wild card, a traumatized little girl who had a hard start due to fate but she took it into her hands and made her life her own, she did things  _ her _ way and left on her own terms. 

Except, now she was gone, quite possibly for good and her disappearance had brought them all together into a rather sort of tragic way.

With the force of an earthquake a loud  _ Boom!  _ rattled the interior to the castle, followed shortly by Grog’s loud voice of, “Where the fuck is everyone?!” resonated within everyone’s chest and filled Vex, Percy and Keyleth with a large amount of relief at one of their closest friends being here to help them figure out what the fuck had happened.

Then Pike, “Guys? Are you all okay? We brought help!” and those words had never sounded sweeter than they did in that moment, followed by telltale signs of Scanlan’s antics, Allura’s concerned noises and a whole  _ slew  _ of people familiar to Vox Machina. 

What surprised the remaining members of the Nein were some of  _ their  _ allies had shown up with the teleportation, unmistakably there was Dairon who was frowning as soon as they didn’t see Beau with the rest of them. But, they still had been summoned by someone, something to come here with an unknown wizard and it appeared that Beau was the reason why. Ah, well, they’ve tracked her down several times, they’ll help do it again if it makes everyone stop looking so desolate. 

Vex relaxed a little, these were friendly people, many of whom she fought beside and for years ago, well before Beau came into their care and now, now was time to ask for their help in helping her home get back on its feet while they poured as many resources as possible into tracking Beau down. It felt wonderful to have friends and family who were ready to drop everything to help  _ them _ for once and, perhaps, finding her daughter wouldn’t be as daunting a task. She took her partners hands, squeezing both of them tightly only to have it returned full force, grounding her as their spirits were raised just by the sheer amount of determination and smarts that had been brought to the table.

  
They were going to get Beau  _ back _ , one way or another.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running. Running. Surviving in a realm that isn't her own wears thin on Beau's sanity and she is quickly reaching her breaking point in a jungle that was designed to... help her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning this chapter gets a little heavy at certain points but otherwise, enjoy

Time passed weirdly in alternate planes Beau came to discover. The longer she had to survive there, she grew more familiar with how time passed and even adjusted to it so that she didn’t sleep through the entire night cycle. Every day that passed felt like two as the day cycle lasted for about 5 hours and the nights lasted close to 25, so rare was sunlight now that with each new sun Beau saw, she made another notch on her staff, grateful to still be alive even if she had to stay on the run to keep ahead of the  _ extremely _ pissed off warlock that was chasing her. 

The bright side to it all was that not only did he wear out fast, it seemed the jungle they were in had it out for him. It assisted Beau in strange ways, vines yanking her out of harm's way, trees shifting to let her pass, fruits of varying kinds finding its way to a pile near her. It wasn't like there was someone else  _ here _ to help her, so she settled on that the strange magic here knew she was good and was set on helping her live as easily as she could while running for her life.

If she wanted to think about it, perhaps she was even getting some divine assistance from whatever or  _ whoever _ was in charge of this plane here. That comforted her a little, made it easier for her to sleep during her times of rest.

She'd made good time away from where Oglen, the orc warlock, had been trapped by some rather angry brush and she didn't…  _ feel _ his aura in the surrounding area so Beau sat down to take a breather and to drink heavily from her waterskin. She wasn’t afraid of running out of water, not like she was the first week she was trapped here and really, it was by accident that she discovered the water here was not only drinkable to her, it provided a small health boost to her and was horribly scorching to Oglen.

After she had rested a bit, she opened her journal, grimacing at the dwindling amount of pages and wrote an abridged version of her thoughts, ' _ Day 46, still running, still surviving. Want my family back, miss them, miss them all. Wanna blow something up with Veth when back. _ ’ then put her pen down against the pages and sighed heavily. It almost felt like a waste now, nothing was changing anytime soon that was for certain but doing this helped the last shred of sanity that she had left continue to exist.

"I don't suppose  _ you _ have answers." Beau thunked her head against the tree she’d been resting against and asked whatever mysterious force that was helping her survive here. Of course, Beau didn't expect an answer or anything really so she thumped her head again on the tree behind her, groaning about being so far away from everything she’s ever known. "I'm clueless, it's been almost two fucking  _ months _ and I-I wanna go  _ home _ . I didn't miss them this bad when it was my choice to travel, cuz I could always go back." And now she couldn't, she knew she was crying now but honestly, Beau didn't give a damn about any of that. She'd cry as she fucking pleased. 

A soft breeze distracted her for a moment, as if the wind was trying to console her while she cried and rested. Beau was grateful that despite how much she lost when she made her choice to seal herself and Oglen away, that wasn't alone at least, she may not have either of her families but at least there was…  _ something _ that was kind out there that was making sure she stayed alive. 

It helps a little. The idea that she was being helped in her survival here made it so she could go in properly for a few more days.

\-----------------

_ Day 62: Haven't seen Oglen in 3 days _

_ Day 76: Running low on ink, i think I know how to make some, do spirit plants get angry? _

Beau looked hesitantly down at the plants she needed to ground down into make an ink-like substance that would help her with her journalling. She knows that Caduceus has talked to plants before, most of the time they're resistant to being messed with but unfortunately, it was the cycle of life that everything would always be destroyed and made anew. On the bright side, the plants  _ would _ grow back, it's just that she didn't want to do anything without asking.

Feeling extremely awkward about this, Beau crouched down and reached out towards the plants, hesitating before gently touching one petal. "Hey, um, this is weird. I've never talked to plants before but, uh, I know you guys can help me make ink? Er, do you think I could use a few of you?" 

There wasn't an answer, not that she expected one because she wasn't a follower of the Wildmother so she couldn't really talk to plants and she wasn't her mother or Jester who could cast a spell and simply do it that way. Beau had always been…  _ just _ Beau. She wasn't magical, she wasn't the leader of anything nor was she someone's chosen like Yasha, Jester or Caduceus (or likeFjord when he was chosen by a damn evil demi-god.)

She wasn't special but… but she was nice and she had a connection to nature due to how she grew up. This place was magical so maybe, while  _ she  _ couldn't talk to plants normally, maybe they could talk to her? 

Beau took a deep breath and tried again, "I don't know if you can understand me. But is there any way you can help me make some ink to write with?" 

She waited a moment. Then another. Several passed before she was ready to give up but she stayed patient, Caduceus had explained to her some plants took a minute to form words, confirming something her mother told her when she was little. Beau wasn't exactly in a rush to be anywhere, Oglen was still trapped miles away from her and he wasn't having an easy time trying to kill her so she could wait, for a little bit at least.

Then, a tiny little voice resonated within her head and she almost cried from hearing someone else’s voice for the first time in two and a half months, even if that someone was a  _ plant. _

The next day she wrote in her journal again.  _ Day 77: They don’t mind if you ask nicely _

The following morning started off rough, she had a close call with an infuriated Oglen sniffing around her campsite while she hid nearby, out of sight and inside of a tree trunk. Magical energy surrounded her, blanketing her scent and presence from him as he batted angrily at thorny vines that curled around his legs, attempting to drag him away from her campsite. 

"Where are you, little human? You can't hide forever!" His voice rattled inside of her chest, forcing her to squirrel away deeper into the tree trunk. He came almost too close to finding her, Beau could practically feel him breathing down her neck and while she was  _ sure  _ she could take him in a one on one fight, she didn't exactly want to right now. Beau was trying to be smart about this, trying to stay alive in order to get home to her family. 

Whenever that day may come.

After he finally stumbled off, leaving Beau to work through the following panic that came after every encounter with him, she staggered to her little campsite, trying to breathe in and out so she wouldn't dissolve into a panic attack while in an alternate realm. She'd have no one to work her through it, she didn't have her parents to cuddle into when she felt so sick that she wanted to crawl out of her skin. Beau didn't have Caleb who had Frumpkin and large hands that ground her with their steadiness and familiarity with breathing exercises. She didn't have Jester, or Fjord, or Veth, or Caduceus or-

_ Yasha _ . Gods, she'd love this place with all of its flowers and natural beauty.

Beau felt like she was cracking, breaking down and it hadn't even been that  _ long _ . She hoped they'd find a way to get her back but what if they didn't want her back? What if that's what was taking them so long, they were only getting her back as a formality and not a necessity? 

Something soft poked her knee, pulling her from her panic induced haze. There was a little blue flower, a new one that she'd never seen before that resembled a pinecone in its petal structure but had a vibrant purple stem instead of a normal green one. The blue petals were streaked with white as it stretched towards Beau in an attempt to comfort her. She barely choked back a sob, covering her mouth to keep from making too much noise in case Oglen was still sniffing around. 

And then, with a careful hesitant reach of her hand, she touched the silky petals and let the tears stream down her cheeks.

_ Day 78: Found a new flower, thought of Yasha and mom, they love flowers  _

After that entry, she tried to draw the flower as accurately as she could with her limited artistic ability.

_ \------------ _

_ Day 134: running, running, running, wearing thin, ready to give up _

_ \------------ _

_ Day 200: i'm stuck forever, i never got to say goodbye. If you find my journal, i don't know how, just… remember i loved you all so much _

\----------

_ Day 364: almost a year, can hardly believe it’s been so long since I came here, i’m really not going back, huh? If I could say one thing to all of you, all at once, it would be that I love you and life with everyone of you made me who I am. Thank you for all the adventures and uh, keep your heads up okay?  _

_ PS: Mom, I’ll tell Uncle Vax you all said hello. _

And with that final line, Beau ran out of room in her journal to write. She neatly tucked it away, leaned her head back and gazed up at the same night sky that officially marked day three hundred and sixty five for her since she left her families behind to save their lives. In a way, she was okay with this, she’d already lived life fuller than she had ever expected when she was a little girl running away from Kamordah.

She closed her eyes, letting herself cry for the things she wished she could see again, ignorant of the sweeping energy that was swirling around her that led her down the path to finally rest her weary body for a long rest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, I love Beau, I don't understand why I do these things.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A voice tickles at the back of Beau's mind, speaking softly. "Beauregard…" it says. "Do not give up. Reach out, take my hand and I will guide you home to your families, to my boys who still need you to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow. I am sorry it took so long but I am here now, accept my blessing and go home."

_ "Beauregard…" it says. "Do not give up. Reach out, take my hand and I will guide you home to your families, to my boys who still need you to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow. I am sorry it took so long but I am here now, accept my blessing and go home." _

\---------

Fjord threw his arms out, making the entirety of the Mighty Nein and Vox Machina stop in their tracks in the middle of the keep. "Caduceus? Do you… Feel that?" He asked, hesitant as something was absolutely  _ screaming  _ at him with the energy of the Wildmother. "It's really loud." Fjord glanced about for the source of the stream of energy, casting  _ See Invisibility _ as well just in case there was something hiding in the shadows and cautiously summoned his sword.

But if it was the Wildmother, it wouldn't be dangerous then, right? If her energy was corrupted then surely they would feel it.

Caduceus frowned, feeling it too. Plant life around them started stirring, chattering excitedly to him about  _ something _ coming, a blessed one, someone who was to come and grace them with her presence as the Wildmother had personally graced her. "It's… wow. I don't know-?" He was stunned, he knew the plants could  _ talk _ but it was never quite so… animated.

Keyleth watched in awe as the trees straightened up at the energy pulsing around them, swirling aura started to surround all of them, the polar opposite to what Oglen had brought to Whitestone. Barely, just barely, they could see the Suntree in all of its revived glory, seemingly thriving even more as something was coming, a force of nature that excited the plant life around them. That was all before the ground started rumbling beneath them, it wasn't a violent shake that would indicate an earthquake but it was enough to make the stone walls around them tremble with the force of its rumbling. 

A portal opened near them, shimmering with a bright green energy that was  _ thriving  _ with life before it swirled into different blues, similar to the deepest depths of the oceans. It changed between the colors, always intermingled with white, or brown, very rarely black and some beautiful shimmering gold. They all gawked at the portal, amazed at what just appeared in front of them. 

Despite their awe at the beautiful portrait the portal painted, they were all on edge, silently wondering what the hell could be getting ready to come at them before the same orc they had seen not even three and a half months ago came flying out at breakneck speed, slamming into one of the nearby walls with a groan. He slumped to the ground, obviously weakened by whatever force he'd been fighting while trapped. That could be good, the enemy of their enemy could be a friend… or a bigger, badder enemy that would turn on them as soon as they were done playing with their food.

They couldn't even pounce on him before vines snapped forward, curling around him and holding him in place. A faint  _ whisper  _ rippled through the plants, waving and beating excitedly as the portal pulsed again. A slim figure stepped out, their feet touching the ground and causing small daisies to pop up around where their feet touched. The plants thrummed again and reached out to touch her as she passed, a familiar face to them that had them all  _ aching _ to run forward and swaddle her in their arms. But bramble prevented them from getting to Beau, all just barely avoiding diving into the brush because they had been dying to see her again. 

Beau was different from what they could see, still clad in her Cobalt Soul outfit but the most striking thing was the colour of her boots. Instead of the dark blue, they were closer to an ocean blue, the colour hovering somewhere between the spot where the light met the dark depths. She had a new cloak too, of course it was sleeveless but now it was the shade of an evergreen tree with gorgeous leaf patterns, twined with vines and even a little deer hiding in the forest that was painted on her back. 

It was all pinned in place on her front by a little symbol of the Wildmother.

She didn't pay attention to tbem right off. There couldn't be any distractions now, Beau had to deal with Oglen lest he become a proper nuisance again.

"You…  _ fool _ ." Oglen said and Beau chuckled a little. 

"Me? Nah, you were the one who tried to bring death magic to people who serve life." She waved her hand and the vines surged forth as the same energy that had excited them in the first place now aiming to grasp onto Oglen, dragging him forward into her range. He was properly bound, so he couldn't harm and even if he wasn't, he was too weak to do anything but growl at her. "Fun fact I learned: Necromancy is a powerful energy but life will  _ always  _ triumph. I'm not going to kill you but I did need you to get back." Her hand waved again and she threw him back in the portal, drawing symbols in the air with her newfound life magic and closed the portal to the Wildmother's realm behind him.

Once the silence was confirmed and that Oglen's weakened presence was no longer felt, Vex crashed into Beau first, followed by her partners and their children who had been trailing behind them as they discussed how to punch into another plane to save Beau. Their family was  _ finally  _ whole again and they didn't care that Beau was different now, that she would undoubtedly be changed by whatever she experienced, she was  _ home.  _ The rest could be worked upon after she had a proper meal and rest.

Beau knelt on the ground, hunched over as Pike grabbed her cheeks to get a proper look at her. "It's been so long! Let me…" Her voice squeaked as she looked thoughtful, turning Beau's head from side to side just to see her. A little healing magic zapped into her, covering the rest of the tiny wounds that had appeared in her dramatic entrance.

Of course, Beau couldn't resist making a silly face when Pike squished her cheeks, drawing a laugh from her aunt and uncle, who was just nearby looking at her too. "Ah, come on Aunt Pike, I'm a grownup now!" She whined, trying to pull back from her Aunt's ironlike grasp on her face but to no avail. Pike Trickfoot was not one to be trifled with, especially when she hasn't seen you in five years.

"Too bad, I remember when you got snagged in one of Percy's traps so you were hanging  _ upside down _ waiting for us to get you. You can't recover from that." Pike teased her, releasing her face briefly to poke her in the stomach.

Beau flushed, definitely embarrassed about  _ that _ memory in particular. She was mortified by the fact that Jester seemed to have heard it, not entirely unsurprised by her lingering as everyone seemed to be hovering or trying not to look like they were hovering. Her parents made no illusions about their worry, they'd been glued to her sides and back ever since the portal closed behind her. 

"I would like to look at my  _ daughter _ too, Pike." Vex wrestled Beau away from the gnome, getting a little offended gasp in response. "Live with it, darling." She chuckled before turning Beau around, the monk going easily because Vex had always been her comfort parent. 

She had special relationships with each one of them and didn't love any of them  _ less _ , just differently. Keyleth was the one who taught her how to have fun even when it felt like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders and how to hope against all odds. Percy taught her how to devour knowledge, how to use it to improve your perception of the world around you. (From that, she learned how to read people and work  _ them _ .) Plus, just because you may have become known for one thing never meant that you couldn't walk away if you felt your original passion became too toxic to be supplemental to your growth. That was a lesson he had to learn as an adult, something he taught her with Keyleth and Vex's support.

Then Vex had been the first person she ever loved with her whole being, the first person who ever made Beau felt like  _ she _ was worth loving and being patient with. Her mother had been soft and gentle with her when she was a child, traumatized by the world around her and showed her that no matter the absolute shitty circumstances you were connected to by blood, you could find new family anywhere.

"Mom." Beau's voice cracked, finally letting the weight of the past year go, cracking under the loving gaze she had expected to meet. She crashed into Vex's chest, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist and just started  _ sobbing _ . 

Vex's nails scratched at her undercut, something new for her since Beau left home and it only served to make her daughter melt further into her front. Beau vaguely felt two other bodies press against hers, a jumble of limbs following as Keyleth and Percy smushed her into the middle of what was essentially a Beau-sandwich. 

It was safe, warm and  _ full _ of love.

Once she was finally let go from between them and once her tears had dried for the most part, she heard a little noise escape someone nearby. Before she knew it, she was tackled full force to the ground by her oldest sister, Vesper. The other six followed suit with one of the youngest, Keton who was four and had never really  _ met  _ her, on top of Beau in a giant dogpile as they were glad to see her.

"Beau!" Keton grinned up at her once they sort of slid off of her but stayed crowding around her, happy to finally put a face to the name he'd always heard about. The letters and gifts finally having come from someone  _ real _ and not someone he thought was a myth. "I'm Keton!" 

She grinned back, sweeping him close to her causing him to giggle as she mussed up his white hair. "So  _ you're _ who the parent squad tells me stole my childhood room!" Beau loved her siblings, she really did and she was  _ sore _ to have missed him being born and them simply not having time to come home and meet him. 

"It's mine now!" He insisted but didn't seem upset by her brand of humor, in fact, it looked like he relished in it.

"Uh  _ huh _ , you better keep it tidy then." She poked him in the stomach, getting another sweet laugh. Beau tried to stand up but two of the kids hung onto her, so she simply picked them up on each hip, thanking every god that when she was blessed by the Wildmother that her strength seemed to have increased so she could do this with ease. 

Keton and Velera squealed in joy, clinging to her with the other kids trailing behind Beau as she took them over to where the Nein was standing, staring at her in shock at the actual  _ amount _ of siblings she had. "Hey, I'm missing one." Beau realized she hadn't met the baby of the group, last she heard she'd just been born but… 

"She's six months." Keyleth interrupted, appearing at Beau's side with a little bundle in her arms. "She was three when you disappeared." She said gently, as if breaking the news to her on how long she was gone would break Beau.

Beau almost dropped the kids she'd been holding, her heart shattering at the thought that things were _wildly_ different between the two realities. She knew there would be something different but she never thought- Beau gently put the children down before promptly collapsing to her knees, grieving the time she lost with her family due to a bad gamble with fate and magic. 

She had so much to process now and Beau certainly didn't know where to start, so intead, she just let herself cry again and hoped someone would put her back together again.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of hemmed and hawed about this for a while but it makes sense for the story and I'm pretty proud of it!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having some heart to hearts with her family regarding her absence, Beau goes back to the Nein.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a stand-alone fic featuring the Vex, Percy, Keyleth, Beau and Vilya group talking and hugging after Beau returns so don't fret! 😄

When Beau finally managed to get her emotions mostly under control and left her parents to go seek out her friends, she was immediately attacked by Jester who kept her in a tight embrace, lifting her a few inches off the ground and rambling a mile a minute. "Oh my  _ god _ , I'm so glad you're okay! Well, physically, I know that being alone for a year had to be hard but you're back now! We're here to help! Plus, your moms and dad, duh, they're  _ so  _ cool. I got to meet another teifling! Her name was Zahra and she was just so  _ cool _ !" 

Beau barely gathered any of that but she knew Zahra's name at least, that was nice that she came to help look for her when she'd disappeared. The warlock had always been kind to her, a personal friend of her parents and a dear friend to Whitestone for reasons that Beau isn't entirely clear on. 

"Jessie-" she awkwardly swatted at Jester's back. "Can't breathe." Beau squeaked as she was suddenly dropped, Jester going into another little spiel about how sorry she was and oh gods, was she okay? She rolled her eyes, but enjoyed the little warm feeling that took root in her chest before she wrapped her arms around Jester and pulled her into her body. 

Jester sagged, hugging her much more gently this time with her arms twined around Beau's waist and she rested her head on her shoulder, carefully avoiding poking at her best friend with one of her horns. "I really missed you. I'm sorry you were gone for  _ forever _ ." 

Beau chuckled a little. The time difference was hard, sure but being surrounded by people who loved her and would have waited for her no matter how long it took on either of their ends eased the tightness in her chest. Of course, she wanted to ignore it ever happened, though it wouldn't be easy to get past and her family was too damn nosey, insisting she  _ talk _ about her feelings. Beau admitted that it did help, it didn't mean she had to like it. 

"Jester, are you going to share Beau or…?" Surprisingly came from Veth who beckoned Beau down to her level after Jester reluctantly pulled back. Beau happily hugged the halfling to her body for a moment, Veth telling her to never do something like that again before urging Caleb over. "He really missed you." She said quietly. "He doesn't like it when family is missing, so try not to sacrifice yourself for the greater good again, huh?"

Beau snorted but agreed to try, her self sacrificial streak ran deep plus all the years of being raised by Vox Machina and allies? It had been inevitable that she would do something idiotic for said greater good, nothing dumber than what some of them have done because well, at least she never died in the process. 

She let herself be hugged and fawned over, her friends asking careful questions as to how she was and if there was anything they could do to help her readjust to life back on their realm. "I don't know, I missed all of you but, being around people is hard." Having a year to yourself where you were constantly on the run tended to instill a large amount of paranoia in a person, she'd gotten pretty good at surviving off of the land if she was trying to look on the bright side.

"I can imagine. Take all the time you need, we aren't going anywhere." Caduceus said amicably, putting his hand on her shoulder with a smile. His kind face made her relax more as well as made her remember that she had questions for him, particularly about the Wildmother and more about her in general. What would it mean for her to… sort of follow her? 

"Hey?" Beau frowned as she realized someone was missing from their group huddle. "Where's Yasha?" She asked, missing the tall barbarian and now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Yasha since she came back through the portal. Yasha hadn't been able to take her eyes off of Beau but after the revelation that she'd been gone for a year, the other woman disappeared and they hadn't seen her since.

A voice startled them, "Yasha is in your mother's garden." Percy said as he came over to them. "If you would like some time alone with her, I could use the rest of your group's help clearing out the east side of town." His words reminded her staunchly that Whitestone had been a victim again as well, falling prey to the hands of an insane necromancer who wanted to ultimately kill the Suntree, almost had as well if it hadn't been for the Nein barreling in and separating him from his goal.

Fjord was the one who agreed for them all to do it, clapping Beau on the back with a friendly grin. "Besides, I will see you for dinner! It's Caduceus's turn to cook and I know you like his vegetable stew." And well, that made her feel just a little less anxious, the knot in her stomach that had formed when her father showed up to take her friends with him easing at the thought of seeing them in a few hours.

He was right too, she really did like Caduceus's vegetable stew. 

Jester and Caleb gave her another round of hugs, making her promise not to disappear on them before they were dragged along to see how they could help in the reconstruction process. Veth and Caduceus waved at her before Veth pulled Caleb along with her after Percy and Jester teamed up with Caduceus, loudly declaring them the "best cleric squad" then amending it by adding in Beau's aunt Pike who was still here.

Beau shook her head at Jester's antics, smiled to herself and turned towards where her mother's garden was.

Finding Yasha was easy enough, she was sitting among a little circle of birds that chirped at her, hopping in and out of her cupped hands where she had some birdseed. Talking would be harder still, it was obvious that she was still feeling Beau's absence, isolating herself so she didn't have to confront how long it had been for Beau versus them. "Hey Yasha." Beau got her attention softly, not wanting to startle the emotional barbarian. Yasha looked at her, sad and hopeful all the same, as if she was afraid this was a dream but desperately wanting to accept it was real. "How are you?" 

That seemed to make Yasha tense up even more, the birds now scattering as she dropped the birdseed and clenched her hand. " _ Me? _ How are you? You were the one gone for a fucking year!"

"Yeah but um, I don't want to talk about it yet." She winced at that. Hearing that it had only been three months for them had been utter torture, almost driving her to snap completely after having just been put back together by the Wildmother. She was lucky her parents were able to help her a bit, her Uncle Grog even more so as he was surprisingly gentle with her about her emotions regarding being trapped and hunted. Beau absentmindedly rubbed the worry stone in her hand, her thumb catching ever so slightly on the symbol engraved there. 

The same symbol now featured on the broach that was holding her cloak in place.

Yasha frowned, another long sad look shot her way before she stretched her hand out to touch Beau hesitantly. When she didn't immediately vanish, Yasha grabbed her wrist and  _ yanked  _ her down and onto her lap, getting a little indignant squeak from the monk. She wrapped her arms tightly around Beau's waist, holding her tightly and buried her face into her neck, breathing deeply and sighing as the familiar scent of  _ Beau _ washed over her except now mixed with something earthier, flowerier and it smelled absolutely perfect.

This was new for Beau, Yasha had never been this needy or touchy with any of them before but it's not like she was going to complain about it. No, instead she clung back and enjoyed the warm, solid contact for as long as she was allowed.

"I… I read your journal." Yasha finally admitted, quiet and soft after they stayed in their positions for a while. "I didn't want to, I was scared I'd invade your privacy or something, I don't know. But I did and…"

Beau pulled back, not enough to dislodge herself from Yasha because that was the last thing she wanted to do, then said,"It's okay, I'm not upset. Um, yeah, towards the… what I wanted to be the end, I kind of accepted that, if you all  _ did _ find it, maybe-maybe I could say what I'd always wanted to tell you all…" Beau knew she was fumbling, she hadn't left much for Yasha other than a drawing of flowers, different wild ones she saw in the realm of the Wildmother.

"But… you  _ didn't _ leave anything for me." Yasha frowned, her fingers clutching just a little tighter into Beau's back, her shoulders tensing just a little. "You told them all goodbye and I…  _ nothing?" _

Beau wrapped her arms around Yasha's neck, pulling her back in tightly. "I didn't know what to say." She murmured into her hair and received a confused noise in response. "I was… I tried but it felt like I'd need a lifetime and then some to explain how much you mean to me. So… I drew you flowers. New ones to… to rip out and show Zuala if nothing else." 

All the air seemed to leave Yasha's lungs at that, her arms tightened almost painfully around Beau's body and she buried her face into Beau's neck. She gently carded her fingers through Yasha's hair, letting the other woman breathe and think without being pressured to respond. 

"Please." Yasha's voice broke, her eyes watering when she pulled back to look up at Beau with her heart on her sleeve and emotions on her face. "Don't make me face a future without you, I-I can't handle losing another woman I love." 

Beau melted at that, something slotting home inside her chest. A little ugly thought had been plaguing her mind for over a year that even if she returned, Yasha wouldn't want her. She did though, Yasha was looking up at her now like she was the most precious thing in all the realms and that if she lost Beau again then it would be like losing a part of yourself permanently. 

She wanted to kiss Yasha, to remind her just how real she was but now wasn't the time. Their first kiss shouldn't be when  _ both  _ of them aren't strung out on emotions that feel too big for their bodies to handle alone. So, instead of ruining everything by doing something they both potentially wanted at the  _ wrong  _ time, Beau softly kissed Yasha's forehead before connecting hers to Yasha's. "I can't promise nothing bad will happen to me nor can you promise me the same." 

Yasha took another shuddering breath before she agreed, hating with every nod of her head that she couldn't protect Beau from life and it's dangers. 

"But I promise that I'm gonna try and if I die… I'm gonna fight every fucker that stands between me and you." Yasha's face lit up like that and finally, she relaxed a little. Just enough to chuckle at that which Beau happily considered a win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there! One more chapter to go!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau didn't expect to be disturbed by someone poking her but there were worse ways to be told that your siblings were kidnapping you to be the responsible adult for a day of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! This is the end of this fic, decided to end on a fluffy note!

"Psst. Beau." She'd heard the footsteps attempting to sneak up on her so a voice saying her name wasn't a surprise, but she was surprised to turn around and find Vesper with their six other siblings standing nearby. They were all dressed and ready for a day out in town, away from the keep so she wondered if they were here to ask  _ her _ to chaperone as opposed to any of the adults or their parents even. 

"Uh, kiddos, what-?" She suddenly had her baby sister thrust into her arms, Vila gurgling when her face came into view. Beau couldn't help but grin at the six month old, she really did love all her siblings even if she only got to properly meet two of them the other day.

"We wanna go out." Keton told her as if the answer was plain as day. That was one of the things she had considered but to be right was… a little weird for her. "Wanna go with you." He sidled up to her leg, leaning against her thigh with a sleepy rumble. 

Well, she wasn't about to deny them something as mundane as a day out. But, perhaps some breakfast would do them some good. "Okay, do we have something to feed Vila while we're out? I'm not exactly Mama Kiki here." Beau said dryly, placing her free hand on Keton's head and ruffling his hair. She raised an eyebrow at Vesper who held out a bag from her body, signalling that she had the required components to keep Vila as comfortable as possible. 

Except the sling, she helped tie Vila against Beau when prompted then took Velera's hand with the two sets of twins trailing her eagerly. Keton happily toddled after Beau and they headed outside, but not before she made sure to tell someone they were all going out. 

"Hey, Veth." Beau popped her head into where Veth was reading something with her crossbow undone on the table in front of her. Presumably to upgrade it but she wasn't going to ask questions, Beau knew better by then. "If anyone asks, I went out and took the horde with me." Veth didn't look up though she did wave at Beau, giving her a thumbs up out of acknowledgement. She really hoped that Veth was listening to her and not just getting her out of the way so she could get back to work.

Ah, well, Beau could also leave a note but there was no guarantee that Veth would read it or remember that Beau had even been by when she was in the zone like that. So, she scribbled out a note and stealthily pinned it to the back of Veth's shirt, getting nothing in return but some giggles from her siblings. 

Pleased with her ingenuity, the gaggle of De Rolo kids headed out into town. 

The first pit stop they made was when a pastry vendor waved them over, recognizing them right off as part of the nobility. Despite the fact that their parents were quite familiar with the "common" folk around Whitestone, it didn't stop them from treating the Lord and Ladies (and by extension, their children) like they were truly something to be revered. 

Beau talked with him for a minute, buying all the kids a treat despite his protests that they shouldn't have to pay. She promptly ignored him and handed over several gold anyways, hearing Vex in the back of her mind telling her to mind her money despite the fact that Beau was a grownup now. Well, something had to stick in the empty space between her ears, she supposed. 

She snuck a platinum in his line of sight for when he turned back around but by the time he noticed, she and the kids would be long gone. Beau grinned a little, she imagined the little happy shriek he'd make and that made her  _ happy _ .

"What was it like in the other realm?" Vesper broke the silence of them looking around stalls, even as she paid for a new shawl to give to their mom when they got back to the keep. 

"Lonely. Very, very lonely." Beau felt that word deep in her soul when she said that. She had had the company of all the plants and the occasional animal she saw but there was no proper company, the Wildmother couldn't commune with her because of how thin she'd been stretched trying to help keep Beau alive. "I was going crazy by the end of it." 

Vesper wince, feeling sorry that she asked about a sore topic. "Was there anything nice?"

"The flowers, I… I learned how to draw them to show everyone." Beau said quietly, glancing down at Vila to sort of ground herself because even if she had help surviving there, it was a dark and desolate time. It did help her to think about what was nice there, sometimes but for the most part she wanted to forget about it. “Um, Yasha likes flowers.”

That got a shared look from the twins, Piper giving Paxton a sly grin. Beau narrowed her eyes at them, both of them were far too nosey about her love life, they always had been even when she left for Wildemount. It was nice how some things didn’t change, especially with how hard they took her leaving. 

Vesper had been twelve when she left, being the most mature of the kids she’d been a little upset but ultimately Beau had been able to explain  _ why  _ she was leaving. Paxton and Piper had… been a lot hard to console, they had clung to her, sobbing and begging her to not leave them because they were gonna miss her too much. She almost hadn’t been able to leave. Forget even looking at them in the face with their wide watery eyes and red faces that pleaded with her while they held onto her legs. 

Beau coughed to clear her throat as she felt herself get a little choked up despite being grateful that she had still been able to write home to her family at least. It eased the ache from being away from them just a little, even though she never told them she accidentally stumbled her way into a monastery then ended up training with a bunch of monk librarians. 

“So… Yasha, huh?” Piper grinned, wiggling her eyebrows and getting a shove from Paxton for her lack of subtlety. “She leaves for five years and comes back with a group of new people! I wanna  _ know _ !”

Beau laughed as they started bickering over whether or not it was okay to ask her questions, she didn’t mind telling them about the Nein but she really didn’t want to delve into the little thing that was still blossoming between her and Yasha. “Guys,  _ stop _ .” The twins immediately paused, looking up at her with wide eyes. “Let’s sit down so Vel and Key can rest and Vi needs to be fed.” She ordered in her best big sister voice, getting easy agreements in response. 

They found a tree nearby, the thrumming of life emanating from it was comforting to Beau. It served as a reminder that she was still  _ here _ , that she survived the horrors that tried to kill her and she came out stronger for it all. Maybe she wasn’t completely sane but that was okay, she had her family and friends at her back, they’d help her when she fell down. 

Vila gurgled, making a soft, content noise as she started chugging the formula that Beau had given her. “Jeez kid, hungry, huh?” She cooed, rocking her gently while Keton leaned into her, playing with her sash and enjoying the shade that the tree provided. Velera was squished between Vesper and Paxton while Piper was sitting beside him, sharing her pastry with him while he and Vesper talked on about new designs for a bow for their mother. 

This was nice, hanging out with them as a cool breeze washed over all of them. The smells of fried foods and hot forges were familiar, Whitestone had been restored sometime when she was about one when she was still with her birth family so she never got to see the shambles it had been in before her father reclaimed it for his family’s name. She got to grow up in this town of happy people who adored the kindness her family ruled with, the easiness in everyone’s smiles proved just how good this place was now. 

“Beau?” Keton murmured, interrupting her thoughts. “D’you have to go again?” 

She sighed. “Yeah, I do.” He looked up at her with tears in his eyes and a wobbling lip. “I’m… an adventurer, buddy. I have to go save the world, just like moms and dad did.” 

“But you’ll come back?”

“Always. For all of you.” Beau promised, letting the warmth of her family surround her.

Beau doesn’t quite know how she ended up in this position. One moment they were just being a somewhat normal family, then the next she had Velera and Keton wrapped around her legs and clutching on tightly with Piper and Paxton clutching at her arms. Vila was still in the sling pressed against her chest, so at least she was secure even with Vesper hanging off her shoulders as she was dragged. She was glad she was strong but what in the entire fuck did she do to end up as everyone’s new mode of transportation?

She moved the leg with Velera on it forward, getting rambunctious giggles from her baby sister before she alternated the other one and jostled Keton. He mirrored his sister’s giggles, clutching even tighter as Beau kept attempting to walk forward while all her siblings hung off her. “What did I do to deserve all this?” Beau muttered dramatically though she didn’t mind that she was being used as a mode of transportation. Their giggling and egging her on got them a few looks but people quickly went back to their own things just because they all knew the De Rolo kids well enough by now that this was standard fare for them.

Beau almost tripped when Keton shifted but she recovered well enough. “Warn me when you do that.” She chided him gently, getting a little  _ sorry _ in return which she shook her head at, forgiving him instantly because he was so damn sweet and tried to be considerate of her at all times. Gods, what did she do to deserve such wonderful siblings?

“So, you never did tell us about Yasha.”

Nevermind, she hated them. 

And speaking of the devil, she saw a familiar tall figure hesitantly approaching her with her mother by her side, giving her a wary look that was mixed with relief at finding her. “I am… not sure what’s happening.” Yasha took in the sight of all of the kids piled on top of Beau while Beau flushed hotly under her gaze.

Vex grinned slightly, clearly relieved to see all of her wayward children in one place. “We couldn’t find you when we all gathered and we panicked a little, given that it’s so recent that you’ve come back to us. Then we discovered that  _ all _ the children were gone, naturally we assumed you all went out and would have left a note. Except we didn’t find one.” She explained why they had been looking for her and the kids, enjoying the way they all were glowing from time well spent together. It was  _ rare _ that everyone was home at one time so this was a wonderful sight to take in.

“Then we realized Veth wasn’t around. We found her in, um, your father’s workshop with a note pinned to her shirt. Your mom, Vex- Uh, Lady De Rolo?” Yasha muttered to herself the last bit, unsure how to properly address Beau’s mom. “Suggested we go to the middle of town and well, here you are?”

Beau smiled at Yasha, happy to see her like she always was and not paying attention to the way her family noticed the soft looks they were exchanging. “To be fair,” she started quietly, almost afraid to break the little fragile thing between them, “I did try to tell her first but she waved me off. So, I left a note.”

“It helped.” Yasha whispered, still drinking in the sight of Beau being alive and  _ here _ . She wasn’t gone like she had been for nearly four months for them and even  _ longer _ for Beau. 

Vex observed them with a contemplative eye as her children slowly removed themselves from Beau, her hands automatically going up to press against Vila’s back. She had never seen her daughter quite so taken with anyone before, she never allowed herself to have romantic entanglements and had instead been helping her family or focusing on her training. That wasn’t to say that Beau hadn’t had certain… things going on but never a proper girlfriend to bring home to them and present with a shy, proud grin on her face. She felt a pang of remorse for not giving her daughter a more normal childhood, not that that would have been an easy thing given the fact she was a child of nobility  _ and _ of three members of Vox Machina. 

Still, she wishes she had tried a little harder. Then maybe perhaps Beau wouldn’t have gone down a path where she had disappeared for a long, lonely year. 

Beau’s laughter dragged her out of her self reproachfulness and she was warmed by the sight now before her. Yasha was holding Vila in her large arms, as gently as Grog used to hold Beau when she was a child while Beau laughed at some oneliner that she must have said as Keton sat on her hip. Her eyes sparkled with mirth and her smile stretched wide on her face, a rare thing to see but it eased the ache inside Vex’s chest, maybe it wasn’t too late for Beau to find some semblance of normalcy.

Maybe she just had to find it all on her own like Vex did. Home wasn’t necessarily something everyone was born with after all, sometimes, for people like Beau, it had to be forged along the way into something more substantial. A little smile rose to her face and she went to join her rowdy children, ready to forget all her worries just for a little bit. 

No place like home, wasn't that what they all said? There wasn't anywhere she'd rather be, especially as Keyleth and Percy were dragged into their shenanigans. 

"Hey, mom?" She heard Beau say towards her and Vex turned towards her, simply raising an eyebrow to prompt her daughter to speak. Beau grinned, looking truly happy for the first time in what could quite possibly be a long time before she said, "I love you." 

Vex's heart swelled a little and she beamed at Beau, "I love you too, darling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll see you all in the sequel hopefully. Thank you all for the wonderful feedback and encouragement! 😄

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, let me know what you thought or shoot me an ask on tumblr @shadowcrow !


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